Crazy For You
by RandomFan22
Summary: Keith has an over-zealous fan - oh, alright, she's a stalker. This will be a two part story with part 1 complete. One chapter posted per day.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It had been a month since spring break and the Family's week long gig in Las Vegas. It had also been a month since Genny had walked out of his life. Things were finally starting to get back to normal. Reporters were no longer camping out at the school hoping to catch him for a quick interview. Having his new car really helped. If he'd had to walk home, things would have been interesting to say the least.

Laurie didn't mind it either; having Keith drive her to and from school each day. She said it left her more time for homework and rehearsals, but Keith was pretty sure it left her more time for her latest cause. His name was Rick Worth. He was a freshman at San Pueblo Community College. She'd met him when she'd gone with Keith to check out the campus and to get his paperwork for his fall enrollment. They still had two weeks of school left which included finals, but they were definitely in the home stretch.

Keith was looking forward to their summer tour and had been writing new songs furiously trying to give them plenty of new material to excite the fans. He'd used that as his excuse not to start dating anyone new right away. He would never admit it, but he just wanted a little alone time now that Genny was no longer a part of his life. The girls at school hadn't cooled down any since his supposed marriage. In fact, they all thought that he was even more attractive now that they thought he wasn't averse to getting married. Little did they know that marriage was even further in the future now that Keith had gone through the fake ceremony. He no longer had to imagine what it would be like to get married. He'd been there and done that. Now he just wanted to play the field for a long, long time.

It was around 9:00 pm on Thursday night and Keith was in the garage putting the finishing touches on the fix to the bridge of his latest tune that had taken over his brain during his sex education class. Mr. Grisbee had given him a hard time when he'd caught him writing down notes on his pad of paper. Man, that guy really hated him. They'd been watching a dumb movie about STD's and Keith had zoned out in the first few minutes. That's when the fix had struck him. He'd had to write down the hook as quickly as possible or risk losing it to a group of bad actors in a bad scene. Too bad for Mr. Grisbee that no one in the class had thought Keith was doing anything wrong. Most of the kids had tuned out the movie shortly after it started.

Keith stood up from the piano bench and arched his back trying to work the kinks out from having sat for too long. He knew his posture wasn't the greatest while he was creating a new song and he always paid for it with a slight backache.

He glanced around the room to make sure everything was where it was supposed to be before he locked up and headed into the house. As he casually stuck his hands in his front pants pockets, he felt a piece of paper rub against his fingers. He pulled out the paper and read, 'maybe I was wrong about you. Give me a call sometime. Anne'. The note was followed by a phone number. Keith remembered running into Anne in the cafeteria at lunch. They had been going to school together for 12 years and had been friends for several years in grade school, but since he'd started liking girls and she'd started liking boys, she'd always given him the cold shoulder. She'd told him it was because he was too into music for her tastes but Keith thought it had more to do with the fact that he'd gotten the hots for a new girl right about the time Anne starting looking at Keith as more of a boyfriend than a 'boy' friend. She'd also believed all those nasty rumors about Keith's inability to commit to a relationship. She basically believed all of those playboy rumors that had been spread, some by Keith himself, but many by past girlfriends and sometimes jealous ex-boyfriends of said past girlfriends.

Keith wondered idly why Anne had changed her mind. Maybe if he called her and took her out he could ask her and find out.

Was he ready to go on a date again? The answer was a very definite 'Yes'.

He picked up the extension in the garage and dialed the number on the piece of paper. Two quick rings later, a man answered the phone with a grumpy 'hello?'

"Hi, is Anne there?" Keith asked the man on the other end. He could only assume it was Anne's father.

"Who is this? It's kind of late to be calling isn't it?" He huffed into the phone. Before Keith could answer, he could hear Anne on the other end asking her father who it was and a disembodied 'some boy'.

"Hello?" Anne said into the phone after a short time.

"Hi, Anne. It's Keith." Keith answered with a smile on his face. He had high hopes for this call. After all, she'd been the one to make the first move.

"Hi, Keith. I'm glad you called." Anne breathed into the phone. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, you can come to the movies with me tomorrow night….if you're free that is." Keith said only just realizing how bad it was to be asking for a date less than 24 hours in advance.

"I'd like that. What's showing?" She laughed, obviously very pleased that he'd called.

"Actually, I have no idea. I've been so busy this week that I haven't taken the time to look." Keith admitted.

"Well, I hear there's a great double feature at the drive-in. Does that sound alright?" Anne had already seen the movies, but she didn't really plan on seeing much of it anyway.

"Sounds good. I'll pick you up around 8:00." Keith smiled again. He loved going to the drive-in. He never actually got to see any of the movies, but that wasn't his plan.

They both would have laughed had they realized they were thinking much the same thing.

"Perfect. I better go now, my dad's glaring holes in the back of my head. See you then. Bye." Anne said as she rang off.

"Bye." Keith echoed as he hung up the phone. He turned back to grab the sheet music off the piano and turning off the lights headed into the house.

Keith walked into the dark kitchen and through the swinging door into the living room. There he found Laurie at the desk doing some homework and his Mom sitting on the couch reading a book. "Hi, honey. Done with the new song?" Shirley asked as he took a seat next to her on the couch. Laurie turned around to catch his answer.

"The music and arrangement sides of it, yeah. I have to work on the lyrics, but it's almost done." Keith said with a smile.

"Which one is this?" Shirley asked always interested in his latest project.

"Well, actually this is the one I started in Vegas. I was having some trouble with the bridge and the lyrics. Now the bridge is done." Keith said not catching the look passed between Laurie and his Mom. They were both concerned that Keith had seemed to hide himself away since all of the intrigue involving Genny's family. They knew the reporters following him everywhere had made things less than comfortable for quite a while, but they had thought by now he'd have thrown his hat back into the ring, so to speak.

"When do we get to hear it?" Laurie asked as she stood up and walked over to join the conversation.

"Maybe Saturday, when we practice. If I'm satisfied with it by then. But then again, I won't have much time to work on it before then, so maybe not for a while yet." Keith talked as he ran through his schedule in his head. With school and a date tomorrow, he wouldn't have time to finish it. But, maybe if he stayed up late tonight he could get it done. Then again, that would make him tired for his date tomorrow night. It was a good problem to have. A date keeping him from finishing the new song. He could deal with that.

"No time to work on it tomorrow?" Laurie asked archly.

"Nope, I've got a date." Keith admitted not really looking up.

Shirley and Laurie exchanged very satisfied smiles.

"It's about time, brother dear." Laurie said as she came over to sit on the arm of the couch right next to Keith.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Keith looked up at her in surprise.

"Nothing." Laurie just smiled smugly.

"No, seriously. What do you mean by 'it's about time'?" Keith really wanted to know.

"Oh come on, Keith. You haven't been on a date in a month. That's like Hugh Hefner not having a party for more than a week. It's unheard of." Laurie teased.

"Laurie, stop teasing your brother." Shirley admonished lightly. "I think it's wonderful that you're getting back into the swing of things."

"You two are too much." Keith said as he got up. "But, I love ya anyway."

He bent over to kiss his mother's cheek and kissed Laurie on the top of the head as he passed by her on his way upstairs. "I'm gonna go work on the lyrics in my room. Goodnight."

They both turned to watch him walk up the stairs. "Don't stay up too late." Shirley called after him.

Keith just waved his hand over his shoulder.

xoxo

"Do you think he's going out with Anne?" Shirley asked Laurie.

"I hope so. It took a lot of fancy talking on my part to get her to realize that Keith isn't the playboy she thought." Laurie said with a look of fake exhaustion on her face.

"So, tell me why you chose Anne?" Shirley smiled at her daughters antics.

"They have a history. They used to be pretty good friends. Plus she's very smart and very pretty. Not normally Keith's type. Well, the pretty part is, but not the smart." Laurie joked. "I'm hoping that she has enough in common with Genny but enough that's different so he doesn't think about Genny while he's with her."

"That's a tall order." Shirley frowned.

"Well, physically they have almost nothing in common. Genny has short hair and green eyes. Anne has long black hair and dark brown eyes. So long as Keith's eyes are open, he won't get them confused." Laurie smirked

"What about when his eyes are closed?" Shirley joked back.

"That could be a problem. Knowing my dear brother, he'll spend most of the night with his eyes closed while they…..well you get my drift." Laurie had forgotten about that possibility.

"Hmmm, yes, that could be a problem." Shirley agreed but hoped for the best.

xoxo

Keith ran the brush through his hair and glanced at the clock. 7:45, he better get a move on if he didn't want to be late picking Anne up for their date. Good thing she didn't live too far away he thought as he grabbed his jacket from the bed and walked out of the room. He ran into Laurie in the hallway who gave him the once over look.

"Do I pass muster?" Keith asked sarcastically.

"Well, you could do with a haircut, but otherwise you're presentable." Laurie winked at Keith and continued, "Who's the lucky girl? You never said last night."

"Anne D'Angelo. Why?" Keith looked at her suspiciously.

"Not normally your type is she?" Laurie pointed out so Keith wouldn't realize she'd had a hand in this set up.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Keith continued to watch her closely.

"Isn't she a little on the……oh, I don't know, intellectual side for you?" Laurie teased.

"I CAN carry on an intelligent conversation, you know." Keith gave his pat answer to Laurie's usual teasing regarding the intelligence of Keith's dates. She thought he dated only dummies; something about smart people being able to see through his act. What act, he'd like to know. He was pretty up front about most things.

"Oh really? I didn't think you spent much time talking at all on your dates." At Keith's cross look she continued, "Well, that's what the rumors say anyway."

"You can't believe everything you hear. You, Laurie Partridge, should know that as well as anyone." Keith reminded her as he finally pushed past her, not only done with this conversation but realizing that he was going to be late if he didn't leave soon.

"Hey, Keith!" Laurie grabbed his arm as he walked by. "I was only kidding."

Keith turned around as soon as she grabbed his arm and noticed the contrite look on her face. "I know." He sighed heavily, "I guess I'm just a little touchy yet after all the recent rumors and stories going around about me and….well, you know what I mean."

Keith hadn't uttered Genny's name since they'd been back. That couldn't be a good sign, could it?

"I know. Sorry." Laurie apologized again. She really was sorry for bringing up a sore subject right before a date. "Have fun."

"That's the plan." Keith said as he headed down the stairs.

"Mom! I'm leaving. See you later." Keith yelled as he headed to the front door.

Shirley popped her head out of the kitchen and said, "Have fun!"

What was it with everybody telling him to have fun? Didn't he always?

xoxo

Keith got lucky when he picked Anne up for their date. Her father wasn't home from a late business meeting so he'd only met her mother who had been very nice to him. He hoped it was a good omen for the whole evening.

Anne had been cool about driving with the top down. She'd said that she loved feeling the wind in her hair. She simply pulled out a rubber band and pulled her hair back in a no nonsense ponytail. Completely unconcerned if it would mess up the curls she had painstakingly styled before Keith had picked her up.

They talked non-stop to the theatre about school and how excited they both were to be almost done with high school. They talked about teachers they shared and classes they had in common. They didn't share any actual classroom time as many of Anne's classes were advanced college prep courses, but they did share some teachers. And, of course, they both had sex education just during different periods.

Keith said some not so flattering things about Mr. Grisbee and Anne could only laugh at the comparison between Keith's least liked teacher and a walrus.

They pulled into a parking space in the back row and Keith asked if she wanted anything from the concession stand.

"Sure, but maybe just a coke or a root beer. I don't need anything to eat. My Mom's a great cook and she's always telling me to eat more. If I don't watch it, I won't be able to do anything but waddle up to get my diploma." Anne said with a smile.

"Well, you sure don't look like you eat very much." Keith told her running his eyes over her svelte figure. Now that he really checked her out, she was quite the knockout. She'd worn a short skirt and a tight low-cut sweater. What he could see of her body, and believe me he could see quite a bit of it, looked fantastic to him. He couldn't ever remember seeing her in anything so fetching at school. Normally she hid her body behind clothes that were much less revealing.

"Well, thanks, but I wasn't exactly fishing for a compliment. And, believe me, that look you just gave me was a compliment." Anne said as she took the time to look Keith over from head to toe herself. He didn't need to know that she had gone shopping right after school because nothing she currently had in her closet was good enough for a date with Keith Partridge.

Keith noticed her looking, spread his arms out to the side and teased. "Like what you see?"

"Ha, you already know that you look your normal gorgeous self." Anne grinned right back at him.

"Well, how would the stunning lady like to accompany the good looking guy to the concession stand and pick out her beverage of choice?" Keith joked back.

"You're on." She said as she opened her door and got out.

Keith grabbed her hand as they walked in companionable silence. Why hadn't he ever asked her out before? Oh, right. She'd always looked at him like he was a piece of gum on the bottom of her shoe. He'd have to find out what had changed her mind, but not while they were mingling with the rest of the kids who were at the concession stand. He'd wait until they were back in the car.

They ran into several of Keith's friends who were quite surprised to see him with Anne. Though very pretty, Anne was not considered to be one of the more popular girls. She didn't date much mostly because guys were intimidated by her intelligence and outspoken nature. She was going to graduate as the class valedictorian unless she flunked all of her finals in a couple of weeks. It was common knowledge that she'd been accepted at Harvard and was going to become a lawyer. She couldn't stand the girls who played dumb just to get dates with the athletes and other popular boys in school. She had a plan for her future and it did not include trying to be popular. So what was she doing with Keith Partridge the MOST popular guy in school?

The guys looked at Keith as if he was crazy for putting himself through a date they were sure could only be boring. The girls looked on with jealousy and wondered idly what Anne had that they didn't. They refused to see that she was a knock-out to look at and that she could hold a conversation with just about anyone.

Anne noticed the looks and just smiled. She knew this would happen. People would question what Keith was doing with the class nerd. Well, so far things were going very well and she'd been pleasantly surprised at how much fun she was having. Keith, for all of his popularity, was no dummy. And, besides that, he made her laugh.

Keith, for his part, completely ignored all of the whispers that followed them as they walked through the pre-movie crowd back to the car, drinks in hand. He was used to being stared at and watched like a hawk. He just watched Anne to make sure that she was doing alright with all of the speculation that was following them. "You alright?" He asked.

"Yes, I'm fine. Why do you ask?" Anne looked at Keith surprised.

"Well, we are the topic of probably 90 percent of the conversations around here." Keith pointed out.

"Oh, you noticed that too?" Anne grinned back.

"In my profession, you get used to being talked about." Keith admitted a little sadly.

"They're just jealous you know." Anne told him.

"I know all of the guys are jealous of my gorgeous date, but what in the world do the girls have to be jealous about?" Keith feigned surprise.

Anne laughed so hard she had to stop walking.

"What is so funny?" Keith asked surprised at her reaction. He thought it was a bit much for the corny line he'd thrown out.

"Well, I have to admit, I'm laughing at myself." At Keith's questioning glance she continued, "I was so sure that you had changed into a vain, pampered teen idol. Just like all the magazines say you are."

"You read them?" Keith asked surprised again. "You do realize that most of the people writing those stories take one comment that I made and then make up a whole story behind it that has no basis in reality."

"I do now. Oh, Keith, I'm sorry that my perception of you was clouded by my own ignorance." Anne apologized.

"Wow, something the class valedictorian doesn't know." Keith said in mock surprise.

"Hey, no fair. I'm coming clean here and apologizing for thinking the worst about you without really knowing you." Anne admitted. "I guess I should have realized that you wouldn't have changed that much from when we were kids. That you'd be more like Laurie than the Romeo that the school rumor mill had painted."

"You're friends with Laurie?" Keith asked all of a sudden suspicious about Anne's approaching him for a date.

"I wouldn't say friends, but I've seen her around school. She's always very nice and friendly. I'm not sure why I thought you'd have changed when she hasn't." Anne was feeling awful about the direction their conversation had taken. "Can we just forget this whole topic? We, or at least I, was having a great time before we brought up this subject."

"Done." Keith said not sure that he still wasn't missing something, but agreeable to her terms as he'd been having a great time too. He just hated talking about his celebrity status with a girlfriend. Invariably they brought up groupies and past girlfriends and those subjects never ended well.

xoxo

They hadn't been back in the car for ten minutes when full night fell and the movie started to roll. The speaker that Keith had hooked to the window blared to life causing both of them to jump. Whoever had used it before them must have been almost completely deaf. Keith quickly reached over to turn it down to a more manageable level.

"Better?" He asked after looking at Anne.

"Not quite." She reached over Keith making sure her breasts came in contact with Keith's arm and chest. She twisted the volume knob completely off and then slowly turned to face him while still leaning across him.

Keith's eyebrows became lost in his long hair as they ascended to a higher level. "There, that's better." Anne smiled directly into his face.

Her actions had the desired effect. Keith reached up his left hand to bury them in her recently released dark locks and pulled her into a soft tentative kiss. He wanted to make sure he wasn't reading her signals wrong.

Anne's left arm began to shake from the stress of holding most of her weight not to mention the emotions that were soon zinging through her body as Keith held the kiss. Her right arm fell from the speaker knob and landed high on Keith's left thigh. As Keith ran his tongue over her bottom lip, Anne's hand jerked involuntarily and ended up as a vise grip a little closer to something he held near and dear than made Keith comfortable. He jerked back and quickly lowered his hand to still hers. He accidentally ended up tugging on her hair quite hard as his fingers pulled through a snarl on their way out of the long curls.

"Ouch." Anne yipped as her head was jerked to the side. Her hand tightened even further causing Keith to squirm. He finally got his hand down to hers and gently pried her fingers open gaining instant relief.

"Sorry, your grip was just a little too strong, there." Keith apologized for hurting her.

Anne quickly pulled back in embarrassment. "No, I'm the one who's sorry."

Anne sat back in her seat and primly folded her hands in her lap. Her eyes stayed glued to her hands as she slowly wrung them together.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Keith asked noticing her almost complete withdrawal. He'd only been trying to protect himself from pain. He hadn't meant to put a stop to their play.

"I'm sorry, I'm just not very good at……well, that." She said as she flipped a hand in his direction. Had she been looking up she'd have been embarrassed even more; she'd almost clocked Keith in the nose with her gesture.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that." Keith smiled gently at the fall of dark hair that hid her face from him.

"You wouldn't?" Anne looked up hopefully.

"Uh-uh. In fact, it was a very nice start. What do you say we try again?" Keith suggested with a smile.

Anne just nodded as her eyes fell to his advancing lips. A shiver went through her just before their lips met.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Anne's emotions were in overload as Keith gently kissed her lips. She just could not hold back on a series of shivers that ran through her frame. 'God this was heaven' was all she could think.

Another series of shivers caused Keith to increase the pressure on her lips in order to maintain contact. When they continued, he finally pulled back to ask, "Hey, are you cold? I can put up the top."

Anne's eyes opened slowly as if reluctant to end her dream. "Um….sure. That sounds good."

She watched Keith turn away and begin the process of bringing the ragtop of the car into a closed position. He reached over her to secure the clip on her side of the windshield and she took the opportunity to breathe in his scent deeply. Keith began to close the windows of the car hoping to keep out the breeze. "Do you want me to turn on the heat?"

Anne watched his lips as he was talking to her. Oh crap, she'd missed what he said. "What?"

"Do you need me to turn on the heat?" When she still paused to answer, Keith continued, "Are you alright?"

That seemed to jar her out of her reverie, "Who me? I'm fine. And, no, I don't need you to turn on the heat. I just need you to come back here."

She followed her words by threading the fingers of her left hand through Keith's hair and pulling him towards her as she leaned back in herself. They met over the gear shift. The relatively chaste kisses of earlier melded into slow, deep, wet kisses that Anne was sure were the best things she had ever experienced in her life. Wow, Keith sure knew how to kiss. Not that she was any expert in the field, but what he was able to make her feel with just his mouth she was pretty sure was illegal in all 50 states.

Keith was dealing with some of the same feelings. What in the world was this sexy woman doing spending most of her nights at home. She had him crazy in less than 15 minutes. Fifteen minutes that had included his being close to castration but in the next minute racing toward something completely more satisfying.

"Slow down." Keith said as he tore his mouth away from her.

"Why?" Anne asked as she followed him back to his seat and dove in for another soul shattering kiss. She brought her knee onto the seat for better leverage.

Seconds later her knee slipped and her hip came in hard contact with the gear shift. Her yelp of pain was followed by her leaning back and honking the horn with her shoulder.

Keith quickly pulled her off of the horn knowing that her slip had just made them the center of attention from all of the cars in the near vicinity. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Oh god, I am the biggest klutz." Anne said with her face buried in his chest.

"Oh, come on. It's not that bad. I just realized that this car is not the best car for make-out sessions." Keith pointed out. This was Keith's first date using his new car. Had his mother thought of that when she bought it? He sure hoped not. But, he had to admit the station wagon had been much better equipped for this type of activity. A big bench seat with no gear shift to get in the way and a back seat that folded down if he was really lucky.

"What do you mean?" Anne asked still unable to look at him. She was currently hoping for a major earthquake to swallow her whole.

"Well, the bucket seats and gear shift do not make it easy for two people to get to know each other better." He said with a smile in his voice and on his face.

"What about the back seat?" She asked, finally looking up.

Keith raised an eyebrow at her in surprise. Maybe brainy girls had a distinct advantage. As Keith's face dissolved into a completely sinful grin, Anne's face soon followed suit. The next thing Keith knew, Anne was leaving his arms and all he saw was a flash of hip and thigh as she launched herself between the two seats. As Keith paused to thank his lucky stars, her head reappeared between the two seats and she breathed in his ear, "Come on back. It's much roomier than you'd think."

Keith banged his left knee on the steering wheel in his haste to join her.

xoxo

"How do you suppose Keith's date is going?" Shirley asked Laurie who was surprisingly spending a Friday night at home. Rick had a college lecture that was to end too late to pick Laurie up, so she'd told him that it was no big deal and they could go out the next night. Though she'd been disappointed that he hadn't asked her to the lecture, she hadn't wanted to ask to go along. He hadn't picked up on her more subtle hints so she'd finally given up.

"Knowing Keith and knowing Anne, I'd say different from the norm." Laurie said thoughtfully.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Shirley asked not following her daughter's train of thought.

"Well, Anne's an intellectual. They're probably spending the night debating world affairs or maybe debating music. Either way, I don't suspect that Keith is up to his usual activities." Laurie said.

"Laurie, I thought you were setting Keith up with someone who he would want to spend time with. If Anne only wants to debate issues on a date, we know this will be their one and only date." Shirley pointed out.

"Well, Anne doesn't date very much. So, I'm pretty sure she's not used to spending a date at Muldoon's Point; if you know what I mean." Laurie raised an eyebrow in her Mother's direction.

"I do, but I'm not sure I like the fact that you do." Shirley looked sternly at her daughter.

"Mom, really. I'm not talking from experience. It's just what I've heard." Laurie attempted to look her most angelic.

"Ha!" came from the kitchen.

"Daniel Partridge, are you listening in on our conversation?" Shirley looked over toward the darkened room.

"More like I snuck down for a snack before bedtime and just happened to hear the last several comments." Danny's smiling face appeared around the corner while he licked chocolate icing off of his fingers.

"Hmmm….what did you find for a snack?" Shirley asked.

"The last cupcake." Danny said as he walked further into the room. At least he was dressed for bed, was all Shirley could think.

"Well, get to bed. You should have been there a half an hour ago." Shirley reminded him.

"Not until I hear the rest of what you're going to talk about." Danny smirked and planted himself on the end of the couch. "I want to hear Laurie explain away her knowledge of what goes on at Muldoon's Point, cause I do not believe that weak excuse she just gave you."

"Danny, Mom just told you to go to bed." Laurie reminded him. She had no intention of continuing their conversation while he was in the room.

Danny looked at his mom to see if she'd been serious and noticed her stern look. "I'm going. I'm going. Why do you take all the joy out of my life?"

"Because that's what mothers do." Shirley said to his retreating back. "And brush your teeth again!"

Laurie took the opportunity to end their conversation by saying, "I think I'll head up to bed too. We have a full day tomorrow what with the photo shoot and all. Good night, Mom."

Shirley could only smile as her daughter beat a hasty retreat.

xoxo

Keith had tried twice already to slow Anne down but she continued to put the spurs to the situation and Keith was no fool. If she wanted this, who was he to try to talk her out of it, right?

They'd been in the back seat for fifteen minutes and the windows were fully steamed up. Anne had been watching for just the right moment and that was it. She wanted to make sure no one could see in. She pulled her hands from Keith's long locks and ran them down his back. She continued until she reached the pockets of his jeans, then as she pulled him in tight, she tilted her hips up giving a very strong message. And, if he didn't catch that one, she slid her hands up under his sweater and pulled it up. She broke off their kiss long enough to pull it over his head.

Keith quickly lost his surprise at her actions and his hands moved below her sweater and gave it the same treatment. Now, the only thing between their bare torsos was her very feminine new bra. Keith made short work of that and pulled back to get his first look at her firm breasts. He watched them rise and fall frantically under her attempts to draw in breath. He first touched them lightly with his fingers and soon followed with his mouth.

Keith's actions caused Anne to gasp and push her hips up again. This is what she'd wanted, right? As Keith sucked her firmly into his mouth her head screamed a resounding, 'yes'. She was soon moaning the same word, encouraging Keith's actions.

She wasn't aware of Keith's hand advancing up her thigh until his hand made contact with the juncture of her thighs through her panties. She jumped again and shivered with reaction.

"You alright?" Keith asked again and momentarily stilled his hand.

"I could not be better." She breathed and thrust herself against his hand.

Keith took that as his cue to continue on. He worked his fingers under the material of her panties and finally made contact with her very warm, very moist center.

Anne's head fell back and a barely whispered, 'oh god, that is so….' which turned into a moan as Keith's fingers pressed in. Anne could feel a scream mounting so she pulled Keith's mouth back to hers and immediately licked her way into his mouth.

When Keith pulled his fingers back hoping for better access, Anne pulled back long enough to demand, 'No.'

Keith ignored her and instead moved his hand to the top of her panties and ventured back down to her center. Anne sighed her pleasure and pulled his mouth back to hers.

Keith smiled into her kiss as she began to move involuntarily against his questing fingers. She was so responsive was all he could think before he felt her convulsing around his fingers and had to keep his lips sealed with hers as he swallowed her scream.

Anne was a puddle of Jell-O. Her arms fell down beside her as her head fell back. She was gasping hard trying to catch her breath. She felt Keith pull his hands out of her panties and pull slightly away. "No", was all she could manage.

"It's alright, I'm not going anywhere." Keith said as he slid down next to her on the seat and pulled her in close. He knew she'd get cold in short order.

As Anne finally came back to her senses, she buried her face in his neck. She was slightly embarrassed at what she'd allowed Keith to do. Well, that wasn't true. She hadn't allowed Keith to do anything, she'd encouraged if not demanded.

Keith moved slightly trying to relieve some pressure from his still very much unreleased passion. He was also trying to make sure that he didn't push himself against Anne. That would be more torture than he could stand.

Anne was finally starting to recover more and more with each passing second. She began to squirm against him, driving him a little crazy. "Hold still, alright?" Keith suggested.

"Why?" she said as she pushed herself slightly away so that she could finally look at his face. She looked up to find his eyes tightly closed and a look of complete frustration on his face. Realization dawned and her hand began a slow decent to confirm her suspicions.

"Don't" Was said just before Anne reached her goal. It didn't stop her from softly laying her hand on Keith's ever growing problem. After all, a beautiful woman was still wrapped tightly in his arms and she was still only half dressed.

"I can help you with that, you know." Anne smiled gently as Keith finally opened his eyes to look at her.

"You don't have to. Just give me a minute." At her laugh he continued, "Ok, several minutes," followed by a rye smile and his eyes falling closed again. He just could not look at her and calm down.

Keith started doing multiplication tables in his head. Anything to take his mind off of the completely fascinating female studying his face.

"Keith, you don't have to suffer." Anne said quietly as she kissed his slightly moving lips. What in the world was he mumbling to himself? "Are you doing multiplication tables?" She asked in surprise.

"Yeah, but it's not working. Stop talking for a while, alright?" Keith suggested without opening his eyes. If his eyes had been open he would have seen the look of pure devilment come over her face. He would have also seen her shift so that she was kneeling on the floor and he would have seen her hands move before he felt them on his belt.

As soon as he felt that, his eyes flew open. "What are you doing?" He asked in complete surprise.

"Stopping you from having to walk stooped over for the rest of your life." Anne joked.

All Keith could do was moan as she gently pulled his zipper past the bulge. He felt some relief instantly but then was back to tensing as he felt her hands push his pants down far enough to give her access.

Oh god, why did he put the top up on the car; he was on fire. But then again if the top wasn't up they'd be giving quite the show wouldn't they? Keith's mind was flying every which way before only one thought remained as he felt Anne's tongue make contact. He knew he was not going to last long after her second lick.

xoxo

"Danny, go get your brother out of bed." Shirley said before really thinking about her request. At Danny's evil grin, Shirley changed her mind and put her hand firmly on his shoulder to keep him in his chair. "On second thought, Laurie, would you please get Keith moving?"

"Sure Mom." Laurie said as she set down her fork. Her four youngest had been up for at least an hour already and were chomping at the bit to get to their photo shoot. They were shooting stills for their upcoming summer concert tour. After all, they needed photos to autograph at the frequent 'meet and greets' that Reuben set up for them. As usual, Keith was the last one out of bed. She'd heard him come home just before his curfew so she knew he'd probably had a good 7 hours of sleep already. She hoped he hadn't stayed up after he'd gotten home to work on a song. Sometimes that boy worked too hard. He needed to spend more time playing.

Of course, if Shirley had known the real reason why her son was sleeping peacefully late into the morning, she would not have thought that he needed to play more. In fact, she'd have likely locked him in his room.

Upstairs, Laurie knocked on Keith's door and let herself in. "Wake up sleepy head. We need to leave for the photo shoot soon."

Laurie glanced over at the bed as she walked past to open the shades on the window. She noticed Keith's bare shoulders sticking out from the covers. Where was his pajama top, she idly wondered? She also noticed that Keith had yet to stir. "Keith," she said louder than last time.

That only garnered her a mumbled 'ten more minutes' and a hand pulling his pillow over his head. Laurie yanked the pillow from Keith's hand and ruffled his hair while saying, "Not even ten more minutes. It's time to get up now."

Laurie was one of the few people who could get away with messing up his hair, well other than his girlfriends who were given cart blanche to run their fingers through it.

She still got no response so continued with, "Do I need to pull the covers off and dump you on the floor?"

That got a response, but not for the reason she thought. Keith had been so tired when he'd gotten home last night he'd stripped naked and fell into bed before he lost consciousness. His sister had no idea that he was buck naked under the covers. With a firm hold on the bedding, Keith finally turned over and glared at her. "Alright, I'm up."

"It's about time. If you want some breakfast before we have to leave, I suggest you get your butt downstairs in 20 minutes or so." Laurie suggested expecting him to throw back to covers and get a move on. "Well, come on. Let's go."

"As soon as you leave." Keith looked pointedly at the door.

"Fine, but it's not like I haven't seen you in your pajamas before." Laurie said as she waltzed out.

Keith plopped back down and almost fell back asleep, but Laurie suspecting this had walked out the door and turned right back around. She stuck her head back in the room and said, "And no falling back to sleep as soon as I leave."

"I'm up. I'm up." Keith assured her as she finally went back downstairs.

xoxo

"Keith" Shirley shouted up the stairs, "We have to leave." And as he finally came down the stairs looking chipper as could be, "You missed breakfast, but we can't wait."

"That's alright, I'll just grab an apple and be right out." Keith was starving, but he hadn't left himself enough time to eat. He could deal with it. He'd have to.

He pulled the door closed behind him and walked toward the bus. "Can you drive? I want to read over these contracts that Reuben dropped off last night."

"Sure." He'd guessed she'd wanted him to drive when he stepped on the bus to find her in the seat behind the driver's seat. If she'd wanted to drive she'd have been sitting with the bus already started. He stuck the apple in his mouth, turned the key and put the bus into gear. Once he didn't have to shift he bit through the apple and holding it in his right hand drove down the street headed toward the highway.

"I wish you wouldn't eat and drive at the same time." Shirley admonished from behind him.

"No choice. I'm starving." Keith told her around his next bite.

"Just be careful." She told him.

"Yes, Ma'am." Keith said dutifully while grinning at her in the mirror.

"You're sure in a good mood." She noted.

"Guess so. Why shouldn't I be?"

"Does that mean your date went well last night?" Laurie piped in while sitting next to her mother.

Keith just shot her a look in the mirror that said, 'none of your business' and looked back at the road.

"Oh come on. Not even a hint?" Laurie prodded.

"Yeah, you made me spill about my date with Gloria last year. Give us details." Danny piped up one row back.

"Fat chance." Keith answered quickly, hiding his smile behind another bite of apple. Too bad Laurie had seen it before he could hide it.

She leaned over the bar and whispered in his ear, "Must have been pretty darn good if you won't say anything at all…."

Keith looked at her quickly in the mirror but remained mum.

"Party pooper." She said before leaning back.

xoxo

The shoot went surprisingly well considering it was always difficult to wrangle three rambunctious kids. Not to mention getting them to all look at the camera and smile at the same time. Even still, the shoot lasted for a good 6 hours when you included the solo shots that were done. Laurie and Shirley had at least three dozen different shots done, many times they required a change of clothes in between so it looked like they had sat for several different shoots. Keith was the unluckiest of all of them; he would have more than twice as many shots taken of him. They helped to break the boredom of posing by having him go first, then the three youngest, then another set of Keith, then Laurie's and so on.

Keith's stomach was growling through most of the shoot so loudly at times that most everyone heard it. The photographer finally took pity on him and sent one of his assistants out for some sandwiches. When they got back, Keith practically ate his first one without breathing in between bites. "I guess that's what they call inhaling your food." Danny commented in awe.

"It's more like desperation. I'm up next." Keith grinned around the last bite.

Man, he was in a good mood, Danny noted. He'd have to try and find out why. It was certainly a change of pace for him. Ever since the fake marriage, Keith had been pretty low. Today he was all smiles. Something had definitely changed. And, if Danny had noticed, it was sure to have been noticed by his Mom and Laurie. This meant some undercover eavesdropping was in order. Danny smiled smugly as Keith turned away to start his next shoot. He loved these types of capers. It was a great way to break up the boredom of life when they weren't traveling. And, his favorite person to torment was Keith; life just got better and better.

xoxo

They got home from the photo shoot around 3:00 and spent the next two hours practicing for the upcoming summer tour.

"So, when do we get to hear the new song?" Laurie asked during a break where Laurie switched from piano to organ and Keith needed to switch guitars.

"Maybe tomorrow. I'm still not satisfied with the lyrics." Keith said as he put the strap of his electric guitar over his head. "I'll work on 'em tonight."

"Oh? No date?" Laurie smiled sweetly.

Keith looked at her saccharine sweet smile and knew she was fishing. "No date." He said without elaborating. Anne had told him she was babysitting for her younger brother so she couldn't go out even though he'd have loved to spend more time with her. Not just because of what had happened in the car at the drive-in, but because he'd really enjoyed spending time with her before and after. She was smart, funny and easy on the eyes.

"Oh, come on, she shoot you down when you asked for a second date?" Laurie continued to tease.

Keith shot her a look hoping to stop any more comments but then was blind-sided by Danny joining in. "You said she was smart, didn't you?" At Laurie's nod he continued, "Keith probably bored her to tears in under 10 minutes."

Keith's response was a secretive smile that was more effective in silencing Danny and Laurie than anything. If he'd protested or tried to defend himself they'd have kept after him. His refusal to rise to their bait took the wind out of their sails.

"Are we ready to start the next song?" Shirley covered the silence and got her brood refocused.

"Let's do it." Keith said and started the count.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Dinner was the usual noisy affair with the littlest Partridges doing their best to be the center of attention. The good natured teasing and ribbing continued non-stop, but over dinner the focus of attention would move from one recipient to another. Everyone was fair game including Shirley. As most close families do, they loved to pick on each other's weak points. If you did something silly or said something inappropriate, you were fair game and tonight everyone was in rare form. The laughter around the table was loud and shared by all. Shirley smiled inwardly at this family dynamic that made her feel all warm inside. It was funny to watch each of them pick on the others but then come to their defense in the next breath. It never changed, but never stayed the same.

Just as they were finishing dessert, the phone rang.

"I'll get it!" Danny jumped up quickly. Normally he couldn't be torn away from dessert, but the phone or the door bell would always pull Danny away from food. He just had to be aware of everything that was going on around him.

"Hello." Danny said a little out of breath from his mad dash from the dining room table. "Oh, sure. Just a minute. Keith, it's for you."

Keith got up and walked over to take the receiver from Danny's outstretched hand.

"Hello……oh, hi Anne…….sure I can come over……give me 15 minutes or so…..alright see you then." Keith hung up and headed for the stairs.

"So, you're going to see Anne tonight after all?" Laurie asked while starting to stack the dirty dishes.

"Yes, Miss Nosy. I'm seeing Anne again." Keith said as he continued to the stairs.

"So, you didn't bore her to tears last night?" Danny added quickly before Keith could bound out of hearing. His comments didn't stop Keith from disappearing up the stairs without comment.

Danny was a little disappointed by Keith's refusal to rise to the bait twice in such a short time. He was either losing his touch or something was different with Keith. He sure hoped he wasn't losing his touch.

xoxo

Keith walked up to Anne's house and rang the door bell. Anne answered quickly and pulled him inside by his hand. As soon as the door was closed, she threw herself into his arms and kissed him deeply.

Keith was stunned but didn't push her away. Several questions were flying around in his head. Where were her parents? Would he be greeted by her father's fist in his nose? Where was her little brother?

When Anne finally noticed that Keith was not participating like he had last night, she finally pulled back. Keith quickly glanced around the room to make sure he was not in imminent danger. "Is something wrong?" She asked.

"No, just wondering where everyone is?" Keith said still glancing around furtively.

"Oh, did I forget to mention on the phone that I'm home alone?" Anne smiled wickedly.

"You most certainly did." Keith said as he finally took a good look at Anne. She was dressed even more fetchingly than she had been the night before. Totally distracted by her sexy appearance, Keith continued a little more vaguely, "I thought you were supposed to be babysitting."

"I was, but Anthony's friend asked him to come over for a sleepover and who was I to deny him." Anne pulled Keith further into the house.

"Where are your parents?" Keith asked checking out the long slim legs sticking out of the bottom of her very short skirt.

"They're out of town at my aunt's house in Portland. They won't be back until tomorrow night." Anne turned around to catch Keith's eyes traveling over her body appreciatively. She spread her arms out and threw his line back in his face, "like what you see?"

"It's alright." Keith waited to see her response to his obvious lie.

"You'll pay for that one, mister." Anne laughed. Keith's appreciation was written plainly on his face and she'd not believed his answer as soon as she'd looked into his twinkling eyes.

"That sounds interesting." Keith smiled back and grabbed her around the waist to pull her back in for a kiss. A kiss that he intended to participate in fully this time.

"Wow, now that's more like it." Anne said as she put a little space in between them.

"Well, last time I wasn't sure if I was going to get clocked for mauling someone's daughter." Keith admitted.

"Ah, that explains a lot. Come on." She pulled him the rest of the way into the living room and he finally noticed the small 'love nest' she'd created in front of the fireplace that was crackling merrily.

"You've been busy." Keith said as he raised one eyebrow at her efforts.

"Not as busy as I hope to be shortly." Anne looked temptingly over her shoulder as she sank slowly down on the pillows in front of the fire. She crooked a finger at him to invite him to join her. Keith wasted no time and soon they were locked in each others arms.

xoxo

Anne had kept an eye on the clock as Keith's curfew began to approach. She'd been watching him sleep for the last hour. She smiled to think of what had made him so tired. She'd surprised him by telling him that she wanted to lose her virginity before going away to college and that she'd chosen him after their first date. They were extremely compatible in that department, she'd told him. Keith had been put off by her clinical analysis of the situation, but she'd soon been able to help him see things her way. She'd once again taken things 'in hand' and soon had Keith convinced that going all the way was what they both wanted.

She'd spiked his last argument by proving to him that she was on the pill and that pregnancy was not an issue. Once that last argument had been laid to rest, Anne and Keith had gotten busy in an, oh so satisfying way. Anne couldn't help but smile at how things had turned out. Just two weeks ago, this had not been her plan but Laurie's unexpected request to make a pass at Keith had gotten her thinking. She'd been put on the pill because of painful periods but before she'd never thought about losing her virginity just because she was safe. In fact, she'd hardly dated because most boys did not find her type of feminine wiles very attractive. But then again, she hadn't really tried to attract boys. She'd been more interested in getting good grades, going to a good college and having a satisfying career. When Laurie asked her to ask Keith out, she'd started thinking about what she might have been missing.

She'd approached their first date like any other assignment. She'd studied up on what happened between men and women and then even had gone so far as to research one particular act that was sure to get any guy very interested. Keith would have been surprised to know that Anne had never performed said act on anyone before she had tried it on Keith in his back seat. What a rush! She'd had Keith in the palm of her hand literally and figuratively. But, she'd also found that she really liked 'dating'. She was pretty sure that Keith had a lot to do with it but once she went away to college she'd find out for sure. Until then, she planned to explore as much as possible with the very delicious man sleeping peacefully beside her.

Tonight had been beyond her wildest dreams. If Keith had seen the overly satisfied smile on her face at that moment he would have questioned what he'd gotten himself into, but he slept peacefully on.

With a half an hour to spare, Anne woke Keith up with a kiss and told him what time it was. They righted their clothes and started the long process of saying goodnight. Each attempt at parting was followed by a lengthy kissing session that one of them would have to stop before their recently put on clothes began to come back off.

"Alright, that's enough, Romeo." Anne laughed as Keith once again started to raise her sweater above her rib cage as his wandering hands sought more tempting territory.

"Right." Keith said but did not remove his hands from under her sweater. His lips went back to Anne's. Keith was giving a very compelling argument for missing his curfew. One that the normally logical Anne was having a hard time ignoring. She was tempted to just give in and head back to their little grotto in front of the fireplace.

But, she had further plans for Keith and they did not include him getting grounded for missing his curfew. She firmly grabbed his wrists and pushed his hands away from her. She knew that if Keith had really wanted to keep them there, he could have but he was trying to be a gentleman and respect her wishes.

"Enough." Anne laughed as she tore her lips away from Keith's reluctantly. At Keith's almost sad look, she laughed and relented slightly. "What are you doing tomorrow afternoon?"

"I have practice until 3:00 or so, why?" Keith asked still watching her mouth like it was an oasis and he had been wandering the desert for several days.

"Can you come over after? I can cook you dinner and we can have some fun before my parents get home."

"What about your brother?" Keith reminded her.

"Right, I forgot about that. Well he won't be home until after dinner so we'll do our 'other activities' before dinner." Anne suggested.

Keith was really liking the fact that Anne thought so quickly on her feet. "I'll be here by 3:30. That work for you?"

"I'll be waiting." Anne smiled as she opened the door. "Now go. You only have 10 minutes before you need to be home."

"It should only take me seven." Keith said as he pinned her against the door frame to say good night one last time.

Neither of them noticed the car sitting across the street or the occupant watching their every move. The occupant sneered as Keith finally jogged over to his car and just before climbing in turned around to wave. "Bitch", was heard as Anne threw a kiss in Keith's direction. The watcher would have been even more angry if she'd known that Anne had used her pet name for Keith.

xoxo

After the family returned home from church, Keith and Laurie had sat down on the couch to look over the proofs that Reuben had dropped off last night after Keith had left on his date. The photographer had turned the photos around quickly as Reuben had wanted to place the order before the end of next week. He planned to place a large order and knew it would take some time to develop all of those pictures. Laurie and Keith were to choose their favorite group shots and also their favorite solo shots too. Reuben and Shirley would have the final say on the family photos, but they always tried to give each person some input. The solo shots were either the individuals call or, often times in Keith's case, Shirley's. Keith hated picking out his own pictures and usually only gave them a cursory glance before asking his mom to pick them.

Shirley and Laurie would then sit down and go over the multiple choices for several hours trying to pick the ones they thought would be liked the most by Keith's fans. They would choose several different options and then present those to Keith. He had never disagreed with their decision.

Laurie and Keith had been sitting side-by-side going through the albums of photos for about a half an hour when Shirley came in from the kitchen.

"Lunch will be ready in about 20 minutes. You two done yet?" Shirley asked

"Yeah, we picked #12 for the family shot." Laurie smiled evilly at her mother.

Shirley already knew what that meant. She'd looked at the pictures the night before with Laurie and they'd laughed heartily at #12. In the shot, Danny had been just about to say something when the camera shutter had gone off. His look was hysterical. They'd teased him mercilessly last night and again this morning. Keith had laughed when Laurie had showed it to him several minutes ago.

"Hey, I thought we'd already decided that that particular picture would be destroyed." Danny said as he came down the stairs to join them. He'd gotten hungry and had planned to check on lunch when he'd heard the laughing comments about photo #12.

"Are you kidding? It's already earmarked as the next album cover." Keith joked.

"I didn't know we made comedy albums?" Laurie grinned at Keith.

"Just one. This time Danny's going to sing lead. The only way we could market that was if it was a comedy album. What do you think, Mom?" Keith watched Danny closely.

"Laugh it up, Casanova. You'll get yours." Danny said ominously.

As Keith and Laurie exchanged a confused look, Shirley jumped in to smooth over the oncoming argument. "Number 12 will not be used for any publicity photo now or in the future." At Danny's smug look, Shirley continued, "However, it will be kept for purposes of bribery should it be required."

"No fair!" Danny yelled as the rest of them dissolved into laughter.

As the laughter finally died down and Laurie and Keith had gone back to looking over the pictures, Shirley finally remembered what she had found the night before. "Oh, Keith, I almost forgot. I found this letter in my sewing basket last night. It must have fallen their sometime over the last few days."

She got up and retrieved the letter to hand it to him. Keith took it a little distractedly as Laurie had just pointed to a picture that she preferred. He was looking closely at the picture and agreed that it was likely one of the better pictures of everyone. He then glanced down at the letter he now held. What he saw made him stiffen in surprise.

Laurie, sitting so closely to Keith, felt his body tense. She looked over at him quickly to see that his eyes were glued to the envelope he held in his hand. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"Wrong?" Keith looked up from the letter his eyes haunted.

"Yeah, who's that from?" Laurie asked.

"It's just a fan letter." Keith said as he laid it on the couch next to him and tried to pull Laurie's attention back to the photos.

Keith would get some fan mail at home, but most of it went to Reuben's office. They protected the family home address pretty closely, but anyone who lived in San Pueblo knew where the family lived. Keith would typically read the letters that came to the house and then put them in a stack for Reuben to take back to the office. Reuben's team of office help would answer the mail by sending out autographed photos and an invitation to the family fan club. Keith rarely thought twice about that particular branch of the family 'business'. It was something that happened behind the scenes that was handled very efficiently by their manager. They had, at first, tried to answer all of the fan mail in person, but over the years it had become so huge that Reuben had a staff of 5 to take care of Keith's mail alone.

When lunch was ready, Keith put the letter in his back pocket and went to eat lunch at the dining room table. Though no one noticed, he was thinking about that letter the whole time and couldn't wait to take it up to his room and find out what it said.

As soon as he could leave the table without causing speculation, Keith went upstairs to his room. He swung the door closed behind him but it didn't latch and he was too distracted to notice. He sat down at his desk and just looked at the letter for a few minutes. It had been several months since he'd gotten a letter from this particular 'fan'. She had been writing to him for almost two and a half years. According to the post marks and by her own admission, she had spent most of that time out of the country with several visits back to the states thrown in. He noticed that the post mark was from New York City. That meant she was back in the states. At least she was 3,000 miles away or had been several days ago.

He finally found the courage to slide his finger under the flap and tore it open. He slowly pulled it out and unfolded it. He closed his eyes and said a quick prayer before beginning to read.

_My love,_

_I cannot tell you how disappointed I was to hear of your marriage. I was devastated as I know we were both saving ourselves for each other. I was mad with grief for the 5 days I believed it to be true. I was inconsolable. I almost flew back immediately to confront you with your duplicity. My aunt was the only person who could have stopped me. And, she was successful long enough for the reports to come out that it was all an act. _

_I should have known it was an act. You are so talented. I can see why the world thought it was true. I, however, should have known it was an act and I hope you'll accept my apologies for believing such rubbish about you. I should have had faith in your love for me. All I have to do is close my eyes, put on one of your albums and your voice declares that love for me quite clearly. I can tell you are singing directly to me when you sing a love song. I feel it piercing my heart with such breathtaking wonder. Who would have ever guessed that love was so beautiful yet so painful while we are apart?_

_I will continue to do everything possible to come back to you as quickly as possible. I know you are waiting for me as I am waiting for you. The girls you date now are just for companionship. I know that. And I forgive you. You must be so lonely without me as I am without you. But, soon my love, I will be coming home to you. _

_I had to overcome a small setback recently so that I could come back to the states. I mentioned earlier that my aunt had tried to stop me from going to you. Well, no more. She will never be able to stop me from doing anything I want ever again. I won't bore you with the details, but suffice to say I am a free woman! Well, except for the fact that I am pledged to you forever._

_I'm sure we'll be seeing each other soon. _

_Crazy for you,_

_Juliet _

It was as he'd feared. It was the girl who had labeled herself Juliet to his Romeo. He carefully folded the pages back up and slid them back in the envelope. He dropped the letter with distaste into the trash can next to his desk hoping to forget what he'd read as quickly as possible.

Danny watched his actions with curiosity and sped down the hallway to his room as Keith got up from the chair and headed toward his door. Danny kept his bedroom door open a crack to watch Keith leave his room, close the door behind him and head downstairs; a somber look on this face. As soon as Keith had cleared the landing, Danny checked for anyone else upstairs and slipped into Keith's room. He pulled the letter from the trash can and pulled it out to read it. Yep, it was psycho chick again, just as he'd suspected when Keith had glanced at the envelope downstairs. If it hadn't been her he'd have opened it up right away and put the envelope in the basket that was set aside for fan letters that Reuben needed to deal with. The only letters that didn't end up there were from 'Juliet'. No one in the family knew about them except for Keith and Danny. Danny knew only because he loved to spy on his older brother. Keith had no idea that Danny had been keeping every letter from Juliet that Keith had thrown away.

Danny was beginning to become very concerned about this particular fan. She was obviously obsessed and had lost touch with reality. Danny wanted to tell someone but then he'd have to tell them how he knew about her. He certainly couldn't talk to Keith about it. First of all, he was pretty sure Keith wouldn't talk about it and second, Keith would kill him if he knew Danny had been going through his stuff regularly for more than 2 years. Danny had a moment of pause and asked himself if he was just as deranged as Juliet. He quickly dismissed that and told himself that tormenting his older brother was part of his job. It didn't make him deranged, just a normal younger brother to America's Heartthrob.

Danny quickly opened his safe and put the letter with the growing pack of previous letters sent by Juliet. He then ran downstairs so he wouldn't be late for practice. It wouldn't help if someone came looking for him.

xoxo

Keith and Anne spent as much time together over the next couple of weeks as humanly possible. They met nightly under the guise of studying for finals. They would study for a little while, but inevitably, they'd end up concentrating on extracurricular activities that they would not be tested on. Well, at least not in any class other than sex education.

It came as quite a shock when Keith found out he was flunking said class. How the hell could that happen when all he'd been doing for the last two weeks was studying above and beyond the school book? How galling it had been to admit it to his family much less Anne. She'd laughed at first thinking he was kidding, but when he finally convinced her that he was serious, she'd offered to help him study. He'd declined knowing that she'd be more of a distraction than a help. He spent the weekend away from her and studied almost non-stop, losing countless hours of sleep in hopes of not screwing up the family's summer tour.

When Keith finally found out he'd passed the class, Anne had offered to help him celebrate. They'd driven out to the country and had a picnic in a very secluded spot. Then Anne showed Keith how she'd spent her time studying up on sex herself. Only hers had been from a self-help book that showed some new and interesting ways to have sex. She'd tried every one that Keith had the strength to try. Keith was sure that he would die of happiness, or at least of sexual satisfaction. He was also sure that he wouldn't be able to move for several days.

"Are you alright?" Anne asked as she lay down beside him and pulled a blanket over their quickly cooling bodies.

"Mmmm." Was all Keith said.

"I'll take that as an affirmative, mmmmm." Anne settled in for a short nap.

As the two worn out lovers lay in peaceful slumber, a figure approached from a nearby outcropping of rocks. She looked down on them for a few minutes, sneered at Anne and smiled tenderly at Keith. She was extremely bold when she walked forward, knelt beside Keith on the opposite side from Anne and reached up to push his hair away from his face. She knew that he was too exhausted to wake up from her light touch.

"Don't get too comfortable, bitch." Juliet addressed Anne without taking her eyes off of Keith, "He's mine and soon you'll know that. If he doesn't break it off soon, I'll have to remove you on my own. The only reason you're still around now is because I have to be careful. They're watching me so closely after what happened to my aunt. And, besides, I know you're going away to school. And, once you're far away from my love, then I won't have to worry about you any more. Just be careful not to really make me mad."

Juliet leaned over to kiss Keith lightly on the lips and almost lost it when she heard Keith breathe, 'Anne' before settling back into deep sleep.

Juliet stumbled away from the sleeping lovers with tears blinding her sight. Was Keith falling in love with the tramp? If so, she would have to be removed, quickly and permanently.

Juliet plotted her revenge as she sat back down in her hiding place to watch Keith and Anne from a distance.

He was hers. That bitch better remember that. If she didn't, then she, Juliet, would have to remind her.

xoxo

In less than a week, the Family's tour would start in Portland. Anne had planned to visit her aunt at the same time and catch the family's performance. Keith had been happy to be able to spend a couple of more days with Anne before they'd be separated for what would likely be several months. They hadn't really talked about the future beyond their next date. With Anne going away to school, it was likely that they would both see other people. After all, neither one of them was ready for a commitment and spending more than 6 months apart would be hard on such a new relationship. Keith made a mental note to bring up the subject some time in the near future.

He'd finally finished the song that he'd started writing in Vegas more than a month ago. It was definitely a break-up song and it had everything to do with Genny. Anne had gone a long way toward helping him work through his feelings of loss, but he'd still felt compelled to write it in a song. He had the family practicing it feverishly so that it would be ready to sing on the tour. Now that he'd been able to separate himself from the feelings that inspired the song, he was excited to see how it was received. He thought it had 'hit' potential. 'I'll Never Get Over You' would definitely be on their next album. Everyone in the family said they loved it.

**_You don't know the pain of being left out in the rain_**

**_And wanting you_**

**_You don't know the times_**

**_I spent all my precious times tryin' to get to you_**

**_You don't know the hate_**

**_I've been feelin' from the hurt_**

**_From the bottom of my heart out to you_**

**_(Chorus)_**

**_I've been lyin' to myself_**

**_I've been tryin' to improve_**

**_I've been cryin' don't you go_**

**_And dyin' cause I know_**

**_I'll never (never) never get over you_**

**_I tried so hard but I just can't do it_**

**_I'll never (never) never get over you_**

**_Maybe I'm not so sure you really want me to_**

**_Baby you're aware no one else could really care_**

**_The way I do_**

**_Maybe your mistake is you've gotta have your cake_**

**_And eat it too_**

**_Maybe I'm insane tryin' to figure out your scene_**

**_And I've got to see you soon to work it out_**

(song and lyrics by Tony Romeo)


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Graduation day had dawned with more fanfare than Keith had hoped for. Earlier in the week, Keith had offered to skip the official ceremony, but his classmates had heard about it and refused to let him miss such an important event. They'd requested that the event require tickets and that each graduate be given only enough tickets for their family members in order to keep the curiosity seekers at bay. Keith had been touched by their thoughtfulness and now could not refuse to attend. The school had been successful in keeping the reporters away from the actual ceremony, but could not stop them from waiting outside once it was over.

At the suggestion of his friends, Keith had ducked out a back way. At least a half a dozen reporters had guessed that he'd try to avoid the major crush and were waiting for him. They'd been the lucky ones to have caught Anne and Keith walking hand-in-hand to his car while the rest of his family attempted to draw attention to the front entrance. Keith and Anne had reluctantly posed for a couple of pictures and then excused themselves saying they were going to be late for their party.

Shirley had planned for a small dual party with family and close friends in attendance. Her parents were in town for the occasion and several of Keith's and Anne's friends were in attendance too. They'd finally gotten used to the odd pairing and admitted that they were a good match; they brought the best out in each other. Keith was happier than he'd been in quite some time and Anne had been brought out of her shell. Neither of their different sets of friends could argue the outcome though it was still a strange gathering when the two very different groups of friends tried to mingle. Anne's family would also be in attendance and finally meet Keith's.

Anne and Keith watched the party progress from a stiff, getting to know each other vibe to one of much laughter and camaraderie. The families blended well and their friends were surprised that, though they had never hung around together at school, they actually had a lot in common. Once the rigid class system of the school had been stripped from them, they found that being friends with someone who was different from you was actually fun and interesting.

After the party finally wound to a close around 9:00 pm, Anne and Keith drove off into the night to spend some time together. They finally had a long talk and Anne had pointed out that she would be at Harvard for 7 years starting in the fall and Keith would be on tour all summer. She thought it best if they called it quits once she'd gone to see him in Portland. It had been a tough decision, but she'd decided that it would be unreasonable to expect either of them to hold off on their futures for that many years. Besides they weren't 'in love' though they sure did like to spend time together.

Anne refused to give up her dreams and didn't expect Keith to give up his either. They had no choice but to separate for the foreseeable future. If fate brought them back together in 7 years, well then they'd deal with it at that time. Keith could not refute her logic and, even knowing he would miss their time together, had agreed that her plan was the best for both of them.

Though neither of them mentioned it, they were both counting down the number of times they'd be seeing each other before circumstances tore them apart. They had both agreed to not mourn the approaching end to their relationship, but celebrate the time they had left. It sounded like one of the corny graduation speeches they'd heard, but it was the only real option for them. They had both chosen their future before meeting each other and their paths went in opposite directions. They planned to make memories that they could look back on with fondness not regret.

xoxo

Keith had driven home that night feeling down about the coming end to their relationship. He knew it was for the best, but it would take him some time to actually wrap his feelings around what his head was already telling him was the right thing to do. He pulled into the driveway and let himself into the dark house. He had just put his foot on the bottom step to go upstairs when he heard a sniffle very near. As his eyes continued to adjust to the dark, he could finally make out the shadow of a figure sitting forlornly on the fourth step. He quickly realized it was Laurie.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Keith said as he turned to sit down next to her.

"Rick gave me the 'Dear Jane' talk tonight." Laurie admitted sadly.

"Ah, I suppose he told you it was because you'd be gone for the summer and 'who could expect him to spend the summer alone?'. Does that sound about right?" Keith said having recognized Rick for what he was when they'd run into him on campus. Keith had tried to warn Laurie that Rick was a user and that he likely only asked her out because of who she was. Laurie had been offended and told Keith to mind his own business. Keith had bit his tongue and left it at that.

"You saw this coming didn't you?" Laurie looked at her brother for confirmation and watched his head nod affirmatively. "You can say it, you know."

"Say what?" Keith asked.

"I told you so." Laurie smiled ruefully. "Because you did tell me and I just didn't want to hear it."

"Well, it was easier for me to see the real Rick. I wasn't all starry eyed by his good looks and besides that, he didn't try charming the pants off of _me_. He saved that for you." Keith joked. "By the way, he didn't succeed did he?"

"At what?" Laurie asked not following Keith's thought process.

"Charming the pants off you? Cause if he did, I'll have to beat him up you know." Keith said.

"Wouldn't you like to know." Laurie refused to discuss the more personal aspects of their relationship.

"Oh come on. I'd hate to start the tour with bruised knuckles. It'll be hell trying to play the guitar." Keith continued to try lightening Laurie's mood.

"Well, your knuckles are safe. We only went on a few dates. And, now that you mention it, they were all very large and public events." Laurie started to see the pattern. She had seen girls use Keith for the same reasons, but had never before experienced it herself. She wasn't sure she liked this side of fame.

"Ah, maximus exposurus." Keith said is his best foreign psychiatrist voice.

Laurie laughed at her brother's silliness. "Thank you. I mean that, really. I needed that." Laurie said as she reached over to hug him.

"Well, I know what you're feeling. Anne and I talked about our future tonight. Though she's still coming to see us in Portland, that will be the end of it." Keith said it as baldly as he could hoping that the plain truth being spoken out loud would help him to believe it.

"I'm sorry to hear that. You two really hit it off quickly didn't you?" Laurie said.

"Yeah" was all Keith said.

"I knew it." Laurie said before she could stop herself.

"What makes you say that?" Keith asked looking at her suspiciously. Though he couldn't see her face, he could see that she refused to look in his direction. He finally realized what he had refused to see before. Laurie had had a hand in Anne contacting him. "She approached me because you asked her to, didn't she?"

"Whatever do you mean?" Laurie asked trying to act innocent but it unfortunately came off as overkill.

"I'm not mad." Keith said knowing that if she knew he was alright with it she might admit she'd done it.

"Really?" At Keith's nod, Laurie finally came clean, "Well, in that case, I did kind of mention to her that I thought the two of you would be good together. And, I was right!"

"No need to crow about it little miss matchmaker. You got lucky this time." Keith was glad she'd gotten Anne to approach him but didn't want her to make it a habit.

"Well, after the tour, I know this other girl that I think might be just perfect for you." Laurie said getting excited about her success.

"Not a chance. Nope. Never." Keith said as he stood up to walk away from her.

"But, why not?" Laurie said as she got up to follow him.

She didn't notice that she was no longer sad about her break-up with Rick, but Keith did and smiled as he continued to walk toward his bedroom.

xoxo

The pictures of Keith and Anne walking out of the graduation ceremony hand-in-hand made the morning edition of several papers and many of the gossip rags. They all speculated about Keith's rebound relationship from Princess Genny and wondered if this one would last.

The varied reactions to the stories were wildly divergent.

Keith saw them and refused to read any further. He could guess at what they said and had no interest in finding out if he was right or not. He simply tossed the newspaper aside and grabbed the sports page instead.

He'd have been sad to see the stories comparing Anne to Genny. Neither one of them deserved that and it would never have happened if not for him.

Anne saw them and read them all, but didn't blame Keith. She knew that he couldn't control what was printed about him. She'd learned that quickly; after their first date. It had been quite obvious that the stories written about him were sensationalized to help sell whatever publication was printing the story. It wasn't that she felt sorry for him, after all he'd chosen to be in the public eye. It just wasn't fair that he might not get the chance to meet someone really great some day. Some one who, like her, believed the stories about him rather than taking the chance to get to know the real person behind the public face; the smart, funny, all around great guy that was Keith Partridge. She almost wished she could have met the Princess. She thought they might have a lot in common; certainly their feelings for Keith, but probably many other things as well.

Juliet also saw the stories. She was not impressed with either female mentioned in the story. She knew that the Princess was outside of her ability to manage and was not concerned. After all, the Princess was in Keith's past. She'd only used him to help keep her father safe. Juliet could understand that. She could see using other people for your own ends. It made sense. Anne, on the other hand, was currently a very important part of her love's life. She, it was becoming obvious, would have to be dealt with sooner rather than later. She was not fading away nearly quickly enough. She had also witnessed some very intimate moments between Keith and Anne and knew that Anne had the ability to turn Keith's head. And that could not be allowed to happen. Juliet had waited far too long. First her Aunt had kept her away from Keith and now this black haired witch had cast her spell. Of course, Keith was not to blame. He was only human and it had been several years since he'd seen Juliet herself. Who could blame him for looking for a replacement?

xoxo

Reuben had hired Mr. Burnhardt to drive for them again this tour and Johnny had pulled the bus into the Portland venue an hour ahead of schedule. If this kept up, they'd have an absolutely fantastic summer tour. Ahead of schedule with plenty of time to rest between shows was too good to be true. They knew it wasn't likely to last, but they could hope.

They took a limo to the hotel to change and allow time for the roadies to set up their equipment. They could no longer use the bus to move around a city as the fans would flock to whichever hotel they found the bus. Johnny had offered to park it at a hotel away from the family and draw attention far away from their actual accommodations. They'd head back to the venue in the afternoon for a sound check and some practice, then back to the hotel for dinner. They had two shows on Friday night, two on Saturday and two on Sunday. It was tough on the vocal chords having so many shows in so few days, but they were used to Reuben's grueling summer schedules by now. Keith would talk as little as possible during the day just to be able to have a voice by the end of each show. Thankfully it was their first long weekend and his voice should fair well.

Anne wouldn't be meeting him until Sunday, so Keith spent most of his free time in the hotel room or at the venue. He rarely ventured out as he didn't want to have to deal with fans except at organized events. Uncontrolled environments had gotten way too dangerous for Keith. As it was, once the fans knew which hotel they were in, coming and going became an adventure. Being on the road was actually quite lonely. Thankfully he had his family.

The Friday and Saturday shows went very well. They'd been sold out and the audiences had been enthusiastic about the new material even though many had come to hear their most popular songs. Life on the road for the Partridges had started out very well indeed.

Anne had called Keith from her Aunt's house on Sunday morning. She'd gotten in town on Saturday and spent the day with her. She and Keith had made plans to meet up on Sunday. Keith invited her over to the suite as he could no longer go out. The fans had finally figured out which hotel they were at late on Saturday and he'd be a virtual prisoner until they left town.

They'd been disappointed that they wouldn't be alone, but the weather wasn't cooperating, so the family outing to the park had been cancelled. Anne brought her Aunt Francesca with her to meet Keith and his family. They spent the afternoon getting acquainted while Keith did his best to stay relatively quiet.

Anne had a great time, but really wanted to spend time alone with Keith. Knowing that it wouldn't be possible unless she addressed the problem herself, she finally decided to get her own room for the night at the hotel. She discussed it with her Aunt Francesca who was much younger than Anne's mother and had a different view on premarital relationships. Her aunt gave her approval and asked Anne to call her before she left town. Just before Keith had to leave for the venue, Anne told him her plans for after the family's performance that night. Keith should come to her room for their 'date'. Keith readily agreed.

Anne would attend both performances on Sunday but had decided not to sit in the audience. She would rather stay backstage and watch from the wings. Sitting in the audience by herself just didn't appeal to her. Besides, if she stood offstage, she could see what the family saw while they looked out over their adoring fans. It was a rare treat to be able to almost feel the wave of adoration flowing over you as the fans cheered at the end of each song. It was a heady feeling even knowing that the cheers weren't for her, she could see why people who performed loved the feeling it gave them. To share your special talents with someone and to have them show their appreciation in such a vocal fashion was amazing. She'd never question why Keith gave up so much of his personal life just to share his talents with his fans. She finally thought she just might understand the draw for him.

When the family trouped past her after the final encore of the last show, they all smiled a little tiredly, but with much elation. Keith put his arm around her as he walked by with a big smile on his face.

"So, what did you think?" He asked as he pulled her along toward the dressing rooms.

"Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic!" Anne assured him quickly. She no longer doubted she'd made the right decision to end their relationship after tonight. She could never have asked Keith to give this up. He was a born entertainer and he'd put on quite the show. He had found his true calling and had been lucky enough to find it at such a young age. He had a very long and lucrative career ahead of him. Anne was very happy for him and no longer regretted calling their relationship quits. It had been the right thing to do. She was sure of that now like never before. But, she would not deny herself one last night with this amazing man and was very glad that they would be able to spend it alone together.

"Wait here." Keith instructed as he went into the dressing room with his family. "I shouldn't be more than 15 minutes. Then we can do whatever you want to do."

"Take your time. I'll be fine." Anne said as she sat down on some crates that were sitting in the hallway. Keith waved at the security guard at the end of the hallway making sure that he realized Anne was approved to be where she was. If not, she'd have been escorted off the premises without delay.

Keith entered the dressing room to find everyone standing around a large bouquet of flowers sitting on one of the tables. "What's that?" He asked not really caring but asking because they all seemed so interested.

"They're for you." Shirley said as she pulled the card out of the plastic holder.

"Oh?" Keith asked not really interested. "Who're they from?" He asked as he began to unbutton his vest.

"You want me to open the card?" Shirley asked just to be sure her son was giving her permission to read the card that was addressed to him.

"Sure, why not? I have nothing to hide." Keith assured her as he took a chair by the mirrors to begin the process of removing the little stage makeup he used. He was more interested in getting cleaned up and changed so that he could join Anne, not in some large vase of flowers that should have been sent to his Mom or Laurie.

"Loved the show. Crazy for you, Juliet." Shirley read out loud.

Keith's head whipped around and he leapt out of the chair grabbing the card from his mother. "You're kidding."

"Who's Juliet?" Shirley asked surprised at her son's reaction to a simple card.

"Ummm…..I, um, have no idea." Keith tried to cover his slip quickly.

"You don't?" Laurie asked not buying his denial

"No, I don't." Keith assured her again.

"Then why the strange reaction?" Shirley asked also curious about her son's strange behavior.

"What strange behavior? I'm going to go take a quick shower." Keith said as he dropped the card on the table and turned away hoping to spike any more questions.

As he disappeared behind the door of another room, Laurie and her Mom exchanged concerned looks but shrugged and started to ready themselves for leaving the venue.

Danny casually walked over to the table as everyone else turned away, palmed the card and slid it into his pocket. He'd look at it more closely later to see if it matched the handwriting from the letters from Keith's psycho fan. If it did, things were definitely taking a turn for the worse. Keith's fan had never sent anything but letters up to this point and Danny was pretty sure she'd never been in the same city with Keith before now either. Maybe Danny should say something to his Mom. Or maybe he should call Mr. Kincaid and get his reaction.

Keith came out of the dressing room in his street clothes and announced that he was going out with Anne and would see everyone later. He walked out of the room and didn't look back. He most definitely hadn't looked for the card and had completely ignored the flowers. Danny thought that if Keith wasn't concerned maybe he'd been overreacting. He'd wait a while longer before alerting anyone else to something that might not be anything after all.

xoxo

Keith put on a hat and sunglasses and walked right out of the venue with Anne at his side. They'd walked right past the waiting fans and jumped in her car to head over to the hotel. They'd fooled everyone because Keith hadn't been with any other member of his family. They giggled about their luck all the way up to her room and proceeded to spend the next few hours saying good-bye in the most passionate way possible.

They had no idea they'd been followed from the venue and up to her room. Nor did they know that someone had watched her door for the entire night. They were too busy wrapped up in each other to worry about life outside the room.

At 5:00 am, Keith had finally decided he better sneak back to the room before his Mom woke up and found him not back yet. She'd call out the cavalry and there'd be hell to pay.

He kissed Anne passionately one last time as they stood in the open door and hugged her tightly whispering in her ear, "Good-bye Anne D'Angelo. I sure am glad you gave me a second chance."

Anne whispered back, "Good-bye Keith Partridge. Thank you for being everything and more than I could have wished for. I hope we run into each other again some day."

She pushed him away from her, waved to him all the way to the elevator and then closed the door to cry herself to sleep. Until that moment, she'd had no idea how hard it would be to say good-bye. The end had never seemed so final. Maybe becoming a lawyer wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Maybe she could transfer to a school in California. But, no, she had known what she wanted her future to look like since she was a little girl and it definitely did not include a rock star boyfriend. Or did it……

xoxo

Keith knew she was in town. She'd sent him flowers to assure just that. Why had he still spent the night with that black haired bitch. He was well and truly under the witch's spell. Well the only way to break a bewitching was to eliminate the witch, right?

xoxo

Keith left with his family to continue up the coast to Seattle while Anne slept in before calling her parents to tell them she'd decided to take her time driving home. She told them she was going to do some sight-seeing. Then she called her aunt and had a long talk about her recent decision, her feelings for Keith and her future. With a lot to think about, she checked out of the hotel and climbed into her car heading toward the coast highway. She'd take the long scenic drive home and think about her conversation with Francesca and her future. Reconfirm her plans and wrap her brain around the loss she was feeling right now for having given up Keith Partridge for a great education and a great future. But how great could that future be if she never found true love? Is that what she was feeling? Was it love or were they just really good in bed together? Keith had been her first. Maybe she was confusing lust with love.

She stopped several times throughout the day at scenic look-outs to walk, ponder her future and mourn her loss. She watched a beautiful sunset before climbing into her car to look for a motel. She'd finally talked herself into believing that she'd made the right decision. She was smiling as she pulled back onto the highway.

A dark car pulled out right behind her following closely. When Anne came upon a series of hairpin turns with sheer drop-offs on her side, she was surprised to push on the brake pedal and have it sink all the way to the floor without slowing the car down in the least. She began pumping the brakes with no effect. As the car continued to pick up speed, panic set in. She tried shifting into a lower gear which helped a little, but she was heading downhill and still picking up speed. Anne watched a sharp curve approach and knew she was not going to make it. As her car crashed through the barricade and out into open space, Anne could only scream.

The dark car following her pulled over to the side, the driver got out to watch the final decent of the car onto the rocks below. She then took some brush from alongside the road and camouflaged the break in the barrier. She hoped it was a long time before anyone found the car of one Anne D'Angelo.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The tour continued on for several weeks; successfully by all accounts in all the local papers that Danny monitored closely. The cities changed, the venues changed, the hotels changed, the meet and greets changed and even the audiences changed. One thing remained the same. At every single venue, Keith received a large bouquet of stargazer lilies on the last night of each stop. The card was always signed – 'Crazy for you, Juliet'.

Keith had not allowed his Mom or Laurie to see the card after the first time. He'd lied to them and told them that they were from different people each time when in reality they were from Juliet each and every time. The first sentence changed each time, but she made sure he knew she had attended the show and then signed it 'Crazy for you' each time.

Keith had started to become quite nervous and jumpy especially on the last night at any venue. He also was quite tense at each meet and greet. Juliet could be any one of the female fans he'd met at these functions put on by the local radio stations. His only hope was that because Juliet was following them from town to town, she wouldn't be in a town far enough in advance to win one of the contests. That argument had sustained him so far but hadn't stopped him from dreading each function.

After a month, Shirley had had enough. She sent Laurie down to breakfast with the kids and waited for Keith to come out of his room. As soon as he walked through the door and noticed they were alone, Keith knew he was in trouble.

"Where is everyone? I thought we were going to breakfast?" Keith asked.

"Everyone else is down in the restaurant. We need to talk." Shirley said as she motioned him to come and sit down on the sofa with her.

"Ok, what about?" Keith continued to play dumb as long as possible.

"Well, for starters, you look awful." Shirley said. "Have you slept at all?"

"Gee, thanks. You look great yourself." Keith hedged then got back to the point when Shirley shot him a look. "Sure. I sleep a little. You know how hard it is to get _real_ sleep in a hotel."

"Keith, you're not fooling me. We have had summer tours before and you've never looked this bad after just four weeks. There is something else going on. What is it?" Shirley was not falling for her son's weak lies.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Can we just go to breakfast? I'm really hungry." Keith started to stand up.

"Sit down." Shirley said as she put her hand on his shoulder to stop him from rising. "That's another thing. You're hardly eating at all. At best, you pick at your food at every meal."

"Well, mom, you know it's important to stay trim. No one wants a fat lead singer. I have a reputation to keep up." Keith tried joking but it came off flat even to his own ears.

"Keith Douglas Partridge, that's enough. You will tell me what's wrong and you will tell me right now." Shirley said. His refusal to talk about it was really scaring her. Was he sick? What was it?

Keith sighed and laid his head back on the couch cushions playing for time. What should he tell her? How much? How little could he get away with? He didn't want her worrying. He could handle it. Right?

"Are you sick?" Shirley asked before Keith could decide what to say.

"No!" Keith's head came up quickly and his eyes found his Mom's. "Mom, I'm fine. Healthy as a horse. Really, everything is fine."

She could read the sincerity of the denial in his eyes. However, the last comment was an outright lie. She could also see that in his eyes.

"Alright, I believe you're not sick. But, everything is not fine. Spit it out." Shirley said sternly.

Keith got up to put some distance in betweeen them. He knew she could read him like a book. Alright, here goes, "The flowers that have been coming have been coming from the same person. She's been at the last show of every single venue we've been at since this tour started."

"That's it?" Shirley asked.

"Well, yeah." Keith admitted sheepishly, "It's kind of creeping me out."

"And you have no idea who she is?" Shirley asked.

"Nope. None." Keith said honestly.

"Maybe we should tell Reuben." Shirley suggested.

"What can Reuben do about it?" Keith asked.

"Well, maybe he can find out who's been at each of our concerts and we can find the common link." Shirley said thoughtfully. "I'll call him right now."

"Alright." Keith agreed thinking that maybe this would take care of it. He wasn't really all that hopeful, but it was worth a try. And, at least this relatively innocent part of the story had satisfied his Mom for now. He'd have to try to act as normal as possible to keep the rest of the story from her for as long as possible. He didn't want her worrying.

Reuben listened to Shirley's story and told her he'd start working on it right away. He also planned to meet up with the family by their next venue. If something weird was going on, he wanted to be near. Shirley relaxed visibly upon hearing that Reuben would be there soon to take care of their hopefully small problem.

xoxo

They pulled into the parking lot of the arena in Dallas on Thursday morning. It had been a long dull drive from Chicago, but they were finally at the end of the road. Johnny pulled the bus into the cavernous parking garage under the venue and opened the door. The family piled out, grateful to finally be stretching their legs. They hadn't stopped for a while and were a little stir crazy. Danny, Chris and Tracy immediately started a game of tag to try to burn off some of their energy. Shirley, Laurie and Keith had grabbed garment bags of costumes and asked directions to the dressing rooms to drop off their burdens. A security guard pointed them in the general direction and said their names were on the doors of the rooms they'd be using. Johnny found the stage hands and asked where they wanted him to park the bus for unloading.

As soon as Keith had dropped off his load of costumes, he headed back out to watch the set-up process and make sure everything was the way they needed it. Johnny had gotten pretty good at helping out, but Keith was bit of a perfectionist and usually spent time watching the process too. Thankfully Johnny didn't consider it an intrusion on part of his responsibility. He'd become a great friend to the family and they were glad he'd been available to drive for this summer tour too.

Once everything was set up, Keith went looking for the rest of his family so that they could run a quick sound test. They had two shows on each Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It was another grueling few days of shows, but they were now used to it having been on the road for just over a month. It was amazing how quickly it became the norm.

Everything went fine and they decided to head over to the hotel to rest before they needed to come back. Reuben should be joining them soon. Shirley had called him last night and he'd said he was flying into Dallas that afternoon. He also told her that he didn't have any news yet, but he had each previous venue checking their records. They should hear something soon.

As they checked in, the desk clerk handed Shirley a message that had been waiting for them. In it, Reuben told her that his flight had been delayed due to severe weather over the mountains but that he'd be there to greet them when they came offstage after the last show. Shirley was just glad he would be there soon.

Keith had seemed a little more relaxed during the drive, but she knew that as the end of their time in Dallas approached he'd become concerned about his very persistent fan. Keith had dealt with them before, so she wasn't quite sure why this one was so different. Of course, they'd never had one that had followed them from venue to venue over an extended period of time. Especially when you consider they'd put on more than 5,000 miles already on this trip. One of these days that old bus would give out and then Reuben would have to allow them to travel in style. Well, a girl could hope, couldn't she?

xoxo

The first night's shows went off without a hitch. Shirley was starting to get a little tense herself. They were having way too much good luck on this trip so far. Usually something would have gone wrong by now. The bus would have broken down, one of the amps would have blown up, one of the kids would have gotten sick or some other crazy accident would have happened. She didn't want to jinx it, but she was starting to wonder when tragedy would strike.

She could have kicked herself for thinking it. She should have known that tonight was the night their luck ran out. The first sign was that Reuben was not there to greet them as they came off the stage amid cheers. Where was he? He never missed meeting them when he said he was going to be there.

"Wasn't Mr. Kincaid supposed to be here?" Danny had to point out what Shirley was already concerned about.

"He said he would be." Shirley agreed.

"Well, it's not like him not to keep his word. What could have happened?" Danny kept verbalizing Shirley's thoughts.

"I'm sure he'll be here soon." Just as Shirley said that, there was a knock of the dressing room door. "That must be him now."

Shirley walked over to open the door. Instead of Reuben, she found two uniformed police officers. "Can I help you?"

"We're here to speak to Keith Partridge." The older one said.

"Oh, what about?" She asked without opening the door further.

"Can't say Ma'am. Is he here?"

"Who is it Mom?" Keith had heard them ask for him and had walked up behind her to see who it was. He was surprised to see the police officers. "I'm Keith Partridge. What can I do for you?"

"You need to come with us." The officer said ominously.

"Why?" Keith shared a concerned look with his Mom.

"We need to ask you a few questions."

"About what?" Keith asked. He hadn't been in town long enough to get into trouble so he had no idea what this could be about.

"Do you know an…Anne D'Angelo?" The officer had paused to check his notes.

"Yes. Oh God, has something happened to Anne?" Keith asked.

"We don't know any more than that. We were just instructed to bring you to the precinct. You'll need to come with us." At Keith's hesitation he continued with, "now."

"Can I change first?" At the shake of the officers head Keith looked at his Mom, "Can you bring me a change of clothes?"

"Sure, honey." Shirley addressed her son and then looked at the officer. "Where are you taking him?"

"To the 5th precinct, Ma'am." The officer told her.

"Be careful. The fans out there will likely go crazy when they see you walking him out. Especially because you won't give him time to change. His stage costume is a dead give away." Shirley pointed out.

"It's alright Ma'am, our car is in the under ground garage. No one will even know he's in the car with us." The officer assured her.

As they escorted Keith down the hallway away from his concerned family, a news reporter and photographer from the local TV station were taping a quick story on the Family's performance. The officers were unlucky enough to have to walk right by them to get to their squad car. Well, actually, it was Keith who was the unlucky one. His exit with the officers was caught on tape.

Just as Keith was being put into the back of the squad car, Reuben happened by. He was too far away to yell and thought better of it anyway. He didn't want to draw any more attention to Keith Partridge being driven away by the police. He needed to find Shirley and fast.

Back in the dressing room, Laurie was trying her best to pull her normally unfrazzeled Mother out of a trance. "Mom, go get changed. Danny and I will take care of getting everyone else back to the hotel. You need to follow Keith. Mom!"

At Laurie's final comment, Shirley finally pulled herself together. "Right. Thank you Laurie. I'm just so confused. What in the world could this be about? What happened to Anne?"

"I don't know, Mom, but it can't be good. Go on." Laurie pushed her Mom toward the connecting door. As her Mom walked away, there was another knock on the door. "Just go, I've got it."

She opened the door to find Reuben with a puzzled look on his face. "What is going on around here?"

"The police just took Keith away. They said it had something to do with Anne D'Angelo." Laurie informed him.

"Keith's girlfriend?" Reuben asked puzzled even more. He had met Anne at Keith's graduation party and found her to be smart and pretty. A real keeper.

"Well, actually they broke up." Laurie informed him.

"And for that the police took him away?" Reuben asked even more confused.

"I doubt it." Laurie answered wryly. "They wouldn't tell us why they needed to talk to him just that he had to go with them right away. They wouldn't even let him change."

"I noticed." Reuben said just as Shirley walked back into the room. She had changed, but still had on her more heavy stage make-up.

"Oh, Reuben. Thank God you're here. I'm heading over to the precinct to find out what's going on. I could sure use your help." Shirley said as she grabbed her purse and an overnight bag in which she had put Keith's street clothes. "Laurie, thank you so much for taking care of the kids. We'll call as soon as we know anything."

"Mommy? Is Keith going to be alright?" Tracy asked having watched the previous proceedings in silence.

"Yes, honey. He's going to be fine. You just go back to the hotel and go right to bed for your sister. In the morning, we'll tell you all about this crazy adventure, alright?" Shirley put on a happy smile for her youngest.

"Ok, Mommy." Tracy agreed.

"Come on, Trace. Let's get you changed." Laurie grabbed her hand and pulled her into the changing room.

xoxo

Reuben and Shirley took a taxi to the precinct and walked up to the window that was manned by a uniformed officer who didn't bother to look up. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, my son is here. Can I see him?" Shirley asked.

"Well that all depends on why your son is here, Ma'am." The officer finally looked up to see a very anxious Shirley Partridge looking daggers at him. "Hey, aren't you Shirley Partridge?"

"Yes, officer I am. And, you have my son here. May I see him?" She asked again.

"Well, let me check. Do you know why he was brought in?" He asked respectfully. It was amazing what a pretty and famous face could get you.

"The officers who came to get him said they had some questions about someone he knows. I don't know anything more." Shirley told him truthfully.

"Alright, then I'll check with the Detectives. They'll likely know where he is. Why don't you have a seat and I'll be right back." The officer motioned to a bench sitting in the hallway.

"Thank you." Shirley said as she and Reuben went to sit down. Thankfully the station was relatively quiet. Being Thursday night, it was much less busy than either a Friday or Saturday. For that Shirley was extremely grateful. All she needed now was some reporter getting wind of where she was. She had no idea that Keith's exit with the police had been caught on tape by a local news station. She wouldn't become aware of that until the next day.

Reuben and Shirley sat in tense silence until the officer who they had spoken to earlier came through a door to the right of the window he had been manning earlier. "Mrs. Partridge, would you come this way please?"

When Reuben got up with Shirley, the officer looked at him with a cocked eye. "He's our manager, Mr. Kincaid. Can he come with me?"

"Oh, um, I suppose so." The officer waved them through the door and then took the lead. He lead them through a winding series of hallways and finally to a door that said 'Detective Anderson'. He knocked lightly, opened the door and announced the Detective's visitors. "Mrs. Partridge and the family's manager, Mr. Kincaid."

"Thank you, Officer Bates. Come in, please." The detective invited. "Have a seat."

Shirley and Reuben came in quickly and sat down. Shirley asked before any more pleasantries could take up more time, "Please, where is my son? Can I see him?"

"He's in the interrogation room. I thought I might explain to you why he's here before you see him." The detective smiled.

"Alright, then, why is he here?" Reuben asked.

"Well, his name was given as a person of interest by the parents of Anne D'Angelo. She's been missing for a few weeks." The detective answered.

"A person of interest, what does that mean?" Shirley asked.

"It just means that your son was likely one of the last people to see Miss D'Angelo before she disappeared." He explained.

"So, does he need a lawyer?" Reuben asked, his face screwed up in concern.

"I don't think so. Unless you know something I don't?" The detective's eyebrows rose in question.

"Of course not, Detective. Our Manager just arrived today and he's just being overly protective. My son has nothing to hide concerning Anne." Shirley assured him.

"We happen to agree with you. This is just a formality." Detective Anderson assured Shirley.

"Then can I see him?" She asked again for what felt like the hundredth time.

"Would you like to be present while we talk to him? I was just about to head over there when I was informed that you'd arrived." Detective Anderson offered.

"Yes, yes I would." Shirley confirmed.

"Then follow me." He got up and led them down another hallway. "He's waiting for me in here."

The detective opened the door and motioned them in.

"Mom!" Keith said as he got up to give her a hug.

"Hi, honey. Are you alright?" Shirley looked him over. Though he looked a little nervous and scared, he had definitely been treated well since leaving her.

"I'm fine. Have they told you what's going on yet?" Keith said as he eyed the detective.

"Not really." Shirley told him. "Just that it has to do with Anne. Apparently she's missing."

"Missing?!" Keith looked at the detective for confirmation.

"Yes, that's what we want to talk to you about." The detective motioned everyone to sit down. "We understand that you may have been one of the last people to see her."

"She's been missing for a month?" Keith asked surprised.

"Well, she had told her parents that she was going to do some sightseeing on her way home from…" He glanced at his notes and finished with, "Portland."

"Yeah, she had come up to see our show. We spent some time together after the show and then I left for the next venue." Keith told the officer.

"What time was it when you saw her last?" The detective asked.

Keith looked at his mom quickly before looking back at the detective. He knew his answer was going to make her mad but he couldn't lie so he just said it, "It was five in the morning."

"What?" Shirley looked at him in shock.

"Mom, not now." Keith looked at her apologetically but turned back to the Detective quickly.

The detective looked down to hide his smile. A little teenage rebellion if he didn't miss his mark. "And, where was this?"

Keith sunk down further in his chair. If his Mom had been angry about his last answer she was going to be really pissed about this one, "I left her in her hotel room."

Shirley's mouth fell open, but she refrained from saying anything. Keith refused to look at her.

"Did you see anyone else?" The detective asked.

"No, we said our goodbyes and I got on the elevator to go back to the family suite. I didn't see anyone else." Keith said after thinking about it for a second.

"Has she contacted you since?" The detective asked.

"No, we had already decided that we would end the relationship after that last night together. You see she's going to Harvard in the fall and I'll be on this tour for the summer. It just didn't make sense for the two of us to even try to sustain a long distance relationship over such a long period of time. So we mutually decided to call it quits." Keith admitted.

"Very mature of you." The detective commented.

"We thought so. But, that's Anne. She's really smart and always looks at things logically." Keith smiled to remember her studious approach to different aspects of their relationship. He couldn't argue with the outcome, but while he was mostly led by his emotions, she was definitely led by her brain. It had been an interesting change of pace for Keith.

"So, you have no idea where she could be?" The detective asked.

"None. Are you telling me that no one's heard from her in a month?" Keith asked, concern written all over his face.

"Well, we've only got limited information, but that's the way it appears. The San Pueblo police department is heading up the investigation as that's where her parents went to report her as missing." The detective really only had sketchy information. He was just supposed to question Keith to make sure she hadn't been in touch with him or even possibly traveling with the family. Anne's family had hoped that was the case.

"Is that all, Detective?" Shirley asked. "Can I take my son back to the hotel now?"

"Yes, that will be fine. I understand you're in town for several more days?" The detective wanted to check.

"Yes, we're scheduled to leave on Sunday." Shirley confirmed.

"Well, then, I'll be in touch if we need anything else." The detective rose from his chair, "Let me show you how to get out of here. I'll also arrange for a squad car to drop you off at the hotel."

"Actually, could you show us a place where my son can change his clothes?" Shirley asked instead. At the detective's curious look she continued, "If my son appears in public like that, we're likely to have a riot. He'll be recognized immediately."

"Of course. Right this way." The detective waved them out of the interrogation room.

While Keith changed Shirley called Laurie to give her the sketchy details. It was also decided that getting a ride in a squad car would not be the best thing either, so a cab was called and Reuben, Shirley and Keith traveled back to the hotel in silence. Keith could tell his mother was looking at him the whole way and almost wished the ride would never end. Once they got back to the hotel, he knew she'd want to talk about the fact that he'd spent a whole night in a hotel room with Anne.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

They had left Reuben at the front desk so that he could pick up his room key. It was going on 3 am when Shirley finally opened the suite doors to find the outer room quiet and the other occupants obviously sleeping. Good, she could have her conversation with Keith in private.

"Don't disappear. We have some talking to do." Shirley said before Keith could make a break for the boy's bedroom.

Keith simply sighed and walked over to the couch. As he sat down and laid his head back with his eyes closed, Shirley went over several possible options to open this conversation.

"Keith, I realize that you're 18 and that I can no longer tell you what to do, but…" She paused not quite sure where to go next.

"But you don't want me risking getting a girl pregnant." Keith finished for her.

"Well, I'm not sure that's exactly what I was going to say, but it works." Shirley admitted.

"Look, Anne and I took precautions. There was never any risk of pregnancy." Keith looked over at his mom so that she could see the sincerity of his words.

"Well, that's something, I guess." Shirley was relieved to hear that they had been smart about starting such an intimate relationship. "But Keith you know that you have to be careful. More careful than other boys your age."

"First off, I'm not a boy anymore. I'm an adult and I can make adult decisions." Keith reminded her.

"Sorry, bad choice of words. But remember, that you have very impressionable younger siblings that look up to you." Shirley pointed out. She knew she could no longer tell Keith what to do or not to do, but she could definitely make sure that he remembered that he had two younger brothers who idolized him. Not to mention a sister who was much closer in age that took cues from him on more things than she would ever admit.

"Mom, we were very discrete. No one outside of you even knows that our relationship had gone that far." Keith assured her. He would have been shocked to know that Juliet not only knew how close he and Anne had been, but had been witness to several of their trysts.

"And Reuben and the Dallas Police Department." Shirley pointed out.

"Yeah, well, I can count on Reuben's discretion and I doubt the Dallas Police Department will sell the story to the tabloids." Keith joked as he got up and pulled his mother in for a hug. "Mom, stop worrying. You raised me right."

"Oh you." Shirley said never able to stay mad long at her eldest son who reminded her so much of his father. She'd never been able to stay mad long at her husband either. What was it about the Partridge men? They were swimming in charm. The kind of charm that Shirley and millions of other females fell prey to every time they turned it on.

"Besides, for the duration of the summer, I'm a prisoner to plush hotel suites. Remember?" Keith reminded her.

"I remember. And, I'm sorry about that." Shirley did feel bad that on the road Keith could no longer sightsee or even catch dinner out. He could only do the normal everyday things when he was home.

"Why? It's not your fault." Keith said resignedly.

"I know, but that doesn't mean I still don't feel bad about it. The rest of us can at least get out once in a while. You're stuck here all day every day." Shirley pointed out.

"Don't remind me." Keith joked. "Hey, look at it this way. My forced seclusion means I have more time to spend writing songs."

"I'm sure Reuben is very happy for you. I, on the other hand, would prefer that you be able to accompany the rest of us on the family outings." Shirley patted Keith's cheek. "I sometimes forget what you look like if I don't see you often enough."

"Very funny." Keith said as he tried to hide a yawn behind his hand.

"Alright, I get the hint. Our conversation is over. Go to bed." Shirley smiled and waved her son off.

xoxo

The next morning, Keith and Shirley slept late thanks to Laurie keeping the younger ones quiet. It was hard as she really wanted to know what was going on. They'd ordered breakfast in and waited impatiently for Keith and their mom to stir.

Shirley finally made an appearance around 10:30. She still looked tired, but she hadn't been able to sleep any longer. She filled everyone in on their relatively uneventful trip to the police station. She also said she planned to call the San Pueblo police department to see if she could find out any more details.

They were just trying to figure out how to spend the rest of the day before the performance when there was a knock on the door.

"That's probably Reuben. Danny would you let him in?" Shirley asked.

"Sure mom." Danny ran over to the door and opened it without checking. Luckily his mom had been right and it was Reuben standing on the other side.

"Hey, kid." Reuben said as he walked past Danny. His eyes swept the room to find Keith not present. "Where's Keith?"

"Still sleeping. Why?" Laurie asked.

"We're going to have to make some kind of statement." Reuben said as he handed the newspaper to Shirley. "Have you had the TV on yet today?"

"Just for cartoons. Why?" Laurie was beginning to feel like a broken record.

"There was a news crew at the arena last night. They caught Keith being taken away by the police on camera. It's all over the TV and the newspapers." Reuben said as he watched Shirley absorb what she was reading.

"This is the whole Princess debacle all over again." Shirley said in shock after reading the totally fabricated story that the newspaper had printed.

"What does it say?" Laurie asked as she tried to grab the paper from her mom.

"Nothing specific yet, but they're starting to speculate all over again." Shirley said with disgust. "What are we going to do?"

"About what?" Keith asked as he finally walked into the room.

"You're the subject of grossly exaggerated speculation all over again." Laurie announced as she waved the paper at him.

"For what? I haven't done anything." Keith said in surprise.

"You were driven away by the police last night." Shirley reminded him.

"That could have been for security purposes." Keith said as he grabbed the paper away from Laurie to read the story.

"You know that and I know that, but the press sure doesn't want to hear that." Danny pointed out. "That story would not sell papers. Keith Partridge being taken away for nefarious purposes sells so much better."

"Nefarious! Where do you come up with words like that?" Reuben asked in surprise.

"Great, just great!" Keith threw the paper down in disgust. "What do I do now?"

"You tell them the truth and stop the speculation. We'll have to hold a press conference or something." Reuben said absently as he began to run through their options in his head.

"The truth about what? That Anne is missing and no one knows where she is? Can we even do that without checking with the police first?" Keith reminded him.

"Right, I hadn't thought of that." Reuben said stymied for a few minutes.

"Well, I was going to call the San Pueblo police today anyway. Let's find out what they'll let us say." Shirley said and headed for the phone.

After several minutes on the phone it was decided that they would use Keith's predicament as an opportunity to get a picture of Anne out nationwide. Have Keith plead for information on her whereabouts. They would get approval from Anne's family and call Shirley back shortly to let her know if it was a go or not.

"You think you can do that, Keith?" Shirley asked knowing that he had been shaken up by Anne being missing.

"Sure. I'll do anything to help them find Anne." Keith said even though he wasn't sure he wanted to make such a public plea.

"I'll do it with you, alright?" Shirley said noticing his uncertainty.

"Thanks, Mom." Keith smiled weakly.

xoxo

Anne's family had jumped at the chance to get Anne's picture out to a wider audience. They had been looking for more than two weeks and had heard nothing. By using Keith's celebrity they were hoping to finally reach someone who had at least seen her. They knew they could get much more air time with Keith doing the asking.

"You ready?" Shirley asked as her son walked out of the dressing room. Reuben had decided to use the press room at the arena and have Keith and Shirley make their statement right before their first performance of the evening. He said it was so that they could limit the time that Keith was in front of the reporters.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Keith said as he wiped his sweating palms down his pants legs.

"Alright, then, let's go." Shirley, noting his nervousness and feeling enough of her own, decided it was best to just get it over with. She grabbed his hand and they walked out of the room together.

Keith would do most of the talking with his Mom beside him for moral support. It held more emotional punch if it was a boyfriend asking for help. They decided that they would not mention that Anne and Keith had broken up before she disappeared. He would ask for people to bring information forward to help he and Anne's family find her.

The press was very receptive to the story and did not ask any hard questions. It went well by everyone's estimation. The Dallas police were very pleased with the outcome and reported back to the San Pueblo police that the story would be breaking nationwide within the hour.

After making his statement, Keith headed back to the dressing room with his mom to try and get himself in the right frame of mind to put on a performance. It had proved nearly impossible. The first show was mostly Keith just going through the motions. The crowd could sense it and tried to rally him and Keith appreciated the effort. He redoubled his efforts and did his best to give them a show they would remember.

The second show was a little better, but still not his best effort. By the end of the evening, Keith was emotionally exhausted. He fell into bed that night and slept for 12 hours straight. It had been the first time he'd slept that well since he'd gotten the first bouquet of flowers from Juliet. He had simply been too concerned about Anne to even give Juliet another thought.

Shirley had stayed behind to be there for Keith when he woke up but had sent Laurie and the kids with Reuben to a local water park. They were to stay no later than 3:00 so that the young ones could come back and take a nap before they had to get up, eat dinner and get ready for that night's shows.

Shirley was beginning to get concerned when she finally heard Keith begin to stir around 1:00. She heard him take a shower and blow dry his hair. Shortly after, he walked into the living area of the suite.

"Where is everybody?" Keith asked.

"At the park. I wanted to keep it quiet in here for you. You needed the sleep." Shirley said as she looked at her son closely. He finally looked more rested.

"Well?" Keith cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Well, what?" Shirley asked.

"I'm not sure, but you sure were looking at me closely. I thought maybe I'd grown another nose or something." Keith joked.

She pulled him into a quick hug and said, "Not another nose, but your third eye is coming in nicely."

"Oh no. I thought I had that covered up well enough that you wouldn't notice it." Keith played along with her.

Shirley wrinkled her nose at him and changed the subject, "You hungry?"

"If you consider famished in the same category, then yes." Keith put his hand to his stomach.

"I'll order some room service. What do you want?" Shirley asked as she walked to the phone.

"How about a double cheeseburger, fries and a coke." Keith said as he sat down on the couch.

"Coming up." Shirley placed the call and ordered herself something too. She'd waited to eat lunch until Keith woke up figuring he'd be hungry.

Keith noticed the paper sitting on the table in front of the couch. He leaned forward and picked it up to see his picture on the cover with a large picture of Anne right next to his. It was her year book picture and she looked beautiful. He had been so busy lately that he'd almost forgotten how much he missed her. Seeing her picture made all kinds of memories run through his head. He closed his eyes and remembered how pretty she'd looked on their first date as she'd almost died of embarrassment from nearly castrating him. That picture melted into one of Anne on her knees in his car smiling up at him beguilingly just before she'd pulled down his zipper and given him more pleasure than he could remember experiencing before that moment.

He could remember every single minute he'd spent with her. She'd had a knack for making each of their dates memorable. She'd been fearless and adventurous. He knew she'd entered their relationship as an innocent, but she'd never given off that impression. Who knew you could learn so much from books? Keith was almost convinced that he needed to do more reading.

"What are you thinking about?" Shirley had finished placing their order and had walked over to find Keith sitting there with his eyes closed and a smile on his face.

His eyes shot open guiltily. "Oh, I was remembering some of my times with Anne." He said quickly.

"Forget I asked." Shirley recanted now that she knew what kind of relationship they'd shared. "Did you read the story?"

"Not yet. I just noticed her picture and it got me thinking." Keith admitted.

"You should read it. They make it sound like you and Anne are the next thing to engaged." Shirley told him.

"You're kidding. Why do they do that? Blow everything I say way out of proportion?" Keith said in disgust.

"It's like Danny said yesterday. This makes a better story." Shirley continued, "And, in this case, it's probably a good thing."

"Why's that?" Keith asked.

"Well, the only reason Anne's disappearance is front page news is because of your press conference. And, I'm sure you'll agree that if this publicity will help them find her than it will all have been worth it. Right?" Shirley reminded him.

"That's true." Keith said and thoughtfully looked at her picture again. "Where can she be?"

"I don't know, but I don't have a good feeling about this?" Shirley admitted.

"Why not?" Keith asked.

"Well, think about it Keith. You always said Anne is one of the smartest people you know. She's not only smart, but she's very responsible. I just think that if she could, she'd have contacted her parents by now." Shirley sat down next to Keith.

"I see your point. So, what does that leave us for options?" Keith tossed the paper down and leaned back while watching his Mom's face closely.

"Well, I know that they've been checking hospitals…..and morgues." She finished quietly while watching Keith closely.

"Oh, god, she can't be dead. Mom, not Anne. She's so full of life." Keith closed his eyes trying to picture her laughing face in front of him.

"Keith, you have to at least prepare yourself for that possibility." Shirley pressed trying to get Keith to realize that Anne's death was a potential outcome.

"I know, Mom. I just really don't want to believe it." Keith ran a hand down his face trying to wipe the pictures of Anne's lifeless body from his mind's eye.

"I know. I don't either. I just didn't want you blindsided if it happens to be true. Or, being blindsided by an insensitive reporter the next time you're at an interview." Shirley would do anything to protect her son, but she knew that his public life made that virtually impossible. So, the best she could do was to prepare him for the unexpected.

"Thanks, Mom. I appreciate it." Keith said and smiled sadly.

Their lunch arrived a few minutes later. Shirley was saddened to see that his appetite had apparently disappeared during their conversation. He still wasn't eating enough for her satisfaction. But, at least he'd gotten a good night's sleep.

xoxo

Saturday night's performances went amazingly well considering Keith's earlier frame of mind. He'd spent the rest of the afternoon trying to compartmentalize all of his feelings and felt he'd been relatively successful when he went onstage and could once again sing with feeling. He'd smiled and interacted with the crowd like the night's before he'd found out about Anne.

He just hoped no one could tell that it was all an act.

By the end of the second show's encore he found that his smile was genuine and that he could once again find happiness in music and performing. He actually found that it allowed him to escape his thoughts about Anne.

Though physically tired, Keith was feeling more elated than he had after the four previous shows over the last two nights.

Until they entered the dressing room after the final show, that is. As in all of the past venues, a large bouquet of stargazer lilies waited for him. Keith's smile melted from his face and he just stood and stared at the white card with his name written across it in that distinctive handwriting.

Everyone noticed his reaction and Shirley could have screamed at the adverse effects the flowers had on his emotions. He had gone from relatively happy to haunted in under three seconds.

"Laurie, why don't you take the kids to get changed?" Shirley suggested wanting some time along with Keith.

"Come on gang. Let's go." Laurie took her cue perfectly and soon Keith and Shirley were alone.

Keith still hadn't moved from his spot. He just stared at the card in dread.

"Keith, you don't have to read it you know." Shirley said knowing that he was freaked out by this particular fan's overzealous attentions.

He looked at his mom sadly and said, "Maybe not, but I haven't not read any of them up 'til now. It's almost like a challenge. I have to read it."

"Do you want me to leave?" Shirley asked hoping he wouldn't.

"No, that's alright. You can stay." He finally walked forward and pulled the card out of the holder. He stared at it for a minute and finally pulled it open. He closed his eyes and pulled the card free from the envelope. He said a small prayer like he did before he read each of her letters and opened his eyes. What he read caused his face to pale and he dropped the card as if burned.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Shirley watched completely stunned by his reaction. She saw her son's face turn from disbelief to such pain that she cried out. "What? Oh my god, what's wrong?"

As if her words finally freed him from a nightmare, she watched him buckle and fall to his knees his arms instinctively wrapping around himself as if to hold himself together. "I killed her." He said barely above a whisper.

Shirley instinctively went to Keith and falling to her knees besides him wrapped him in her loving embrace. She could feel his body shaking uncontrollably. "It's alright honey. I promise you, everything will be alright." She spoke words of comfort without knowing what was truly wrong.

"No, nothing will ever be right again." Keith's answer dissolved into a sob that Shirley felt overtake his entire body. "Oh god it just can't be true."

Tears flowed freely down his face while he kept repeating over and over again, 'I killed her. It's all my fault'.

Tears were streaming down Shirley's face in reaction to her son's emotional outburst. Keith had never been one for tears. He'd barely cried when his father died at least not in front of her and he'd never cried when he'd hurt himself as a child. He'd just bite his lip and, tears swimming in his eyes, tell her that he'd be alright.

What did the card say? Whatever it was it had devastated Keith but she didn't want to let go long enough to find out. He needed her love and support now more than she needed to see what was in that note. She noticed that he was no longer saying anything but the tears still flowed silently down his face. He just rocked back and forth, shaking like he was freezing.

"Mom?" Laurie peeked her head out of the other room and stopped in her tracks stunned by the tableau that greeted her.

"Laurie, don't let the others in here. But, I need your help." Shirley instructed her eyes frantic with worry.

Laurie turned around and told Danny, "Stay in here or so help me I'll tell mom that you broke Grandma's vase. And, keep Chris and Tracy busy."

At Danny's wide-eyed nod of agreement, Laurie walked out into the other room and closed the door firmly behind her.

"What do you want me to do?" Laurie asked as she approached her mom and brother tentatively.

"Grab that blanket and bring it here. He's in shock." Shirley needed to see what was in that note. As Laurie approached and draped the blanket around Keith's shoulders, Shirley let go long enough to anchor the warmth around his still wildly shaking body.

Laurie fell to her knees beside her brother and accepted his weight when Shirley gently handed him over. She could feel the waves of utter devastation rolling off of him. She soon had tears of sympathy rolling down her face.

Shirley quickly picked up the note and walked a short way away to read it.

_My love,_

_I have taken care of our little problem. She will never come between us again. I've made sure of that. _

_Her lifeless body is at the bottom of a ravine along Highway 1 in Oregon. The witch died screaming and her spell has been broken._

_Now, it's just the two of us again. Soon, my love, our years of waiting to be together will be over._

_Crazy for you,_

_Juliet_

Shirley could not believe what she saw with her own eyes. This was no overzealous fan. This was a stalker plain and simple; a deranged stalker. Her son had serious trouble and who knew how long he'd been hiding it.

Shirley looked over to see Laurie watching her with wide tear-filled eyes. She continued to murmur her support to Keith, but she watched her mother closely.

Shirley walked back to Keith and Laurie and gently put her hands on her son's face. She forced him to look at her but his eyes were unfocused as he was lost in his own private hell. The vacant look frightened her more than anything in her life before. "Keith, look at me. Keith!" She practically shouted his name the last time.

As his swimming eyes finally focused on her face she continued, "This is not your fault. Do you hear me? This is not your fault. This girl is sick. This may not even be true. But no matter what, this is not your fault."

"It is. It's all my fault. Anne is dead and I killed her." Keith said truly believing it.

Laurie looked on in stunned disbelief. She still had no idea what the note said but could not believe that Keith was blaming himself for Anne's death. How did he know Anne was dead?

"Keith we need to take this to the police. They can find out if it's true. Maybe it's not true. Please, honey, don't blame yourself for something that may not even be true." Shirley begged.

"Oh, God, mom. How can I live with myself?" Keith asked not really hearing her.

Shirley continued to try to get Keith to really hear what she was saying. Her legs were cramping but she didn't move. She continued to hold him and tell him that he was not to blame.

He finally calmed down enough for Shirley to get him to stand up and move to a chair. "Laurie, get me some water."

Laurie quickly went to a pitcher, poured a glass of water and handed it to her mother. Her mother handed her the note and motioned her to take it away. Laurie read it while she took it to her makeup case and shut it inside. She finally understood why her brother had been so devastated. Were there really people in this world who were as sick as the writer of that note appeared to be?

"Mom, I'll take the kids back to the hotel through the other door and send Reuben in here. He'll want to go with you when you go to the police." Laurie said quietly hoping to not disturb Keith who it appeared was finally accepting his mother's comfort.

"Thank you, honey." Shirley smiled sadly at her daughter who had been such a big help. Laurie made sure her mother knew where she'd put the note and then quietly left the room.

Within a few minutes, Reuben entered the room tentatively. At first glance, it looked like Keith was sitting calmly in a chair sipping from a glass of water. When Reuben looked more closely, he noticed that Shirley had to hold the glass steady as shivers continued to rack Keith's frame. He was no longer crying, but he looked utterly devastated.

"Shirley?" Reuben didn't want to intrude, but he needed to know what he was dealing with. Laurie had tried to fill him in, but the other kids had been present and she'd only said that Keith's 'flower fan' had left him a note with some bad news.

"Will you be alright, honey?" Shirley asked Keith as he nodded vaguely and pulling the blanket close around him slouched down in the chair. "I'll just be over here talking to Reuben."

"Shirley, what is going on?" Reuben asked astounded at the changes in Keith. A short time ago he'd been charming their fans with his smiles and spellbinding voice. Now he looked like a man with the weight of the world crushing down on him.

"Reuben, remember that fan I asked you to check up on?" At Reuben's nod, Shirley continued, "Well, she struck again tonight. That's the normal arrangement of flowers that Keith's received for the past month on the last show of every one of our stops."

Reuben followed Shirley's hand gesture to find a beautiful arrangement of white flowers with pinkish purple accents. He didn't know what they were called, but he thought they were quite pretty. "He's upset because he got another bouquet of flowers?" Reuben asked confused.

"No, it's the note that came with them that has him devastated." She went over to Laurie's make-up bag and pulled it out to hand it to him. Reuben read in stunned silence.

"Any chance its true?" Reuben asked.

"Maybe. But, I sure hope not. I don't know if Keith could handle that." Shirley watched her son closely as he sat with his eyes closed trying to make himself as small as possible.

"Well, we need to take this to the police. After talking to Keith about Anne the other night, they will sure be interested in this." Reuben said as he brought the note up between them.

"I know, but I don't know if Keith will be able to talk to them." Shirley said.

"I'll go." Keith said with his eyes still closed surprising both him Mom and his Manager. "I need to find out if it's true."

"Keith, are you sure?" Shirley asked

Keith opened his eyes and looked directly at his Mom with conviction in his eyes, "Yes, I'm sure. If this is my fault, I have to know."

"Keith, even if it's true, it is NOT your fault." Shirley said again.

"You can say that as many times as you want, Mom. I won't believe you." Keith said as he stood up and let the blanket fall. "I'll just go change so that we can go to the police station. You may want to call ahead so that Detective Anderson is there."

Well, Keith was certainly thinking very clearly if he remembered the Detective from the other night.

"Alright, honey. I'll change too and we can leave in 15 minutes, alright?" Shirley agreed.

"I'll call the precinct." Reuben offered as they both headed out of the room.

xoxo

Laurie had just put the younger kids to bed and was standing at the window looking out over the city. She wasn't seeing the winking lights and the moving traffic, her minds eye was replaying the scene in the dressing room. As she relived the moments that she held Keith in her arms, she could feel again the utter devastation that had been rolling off of him in waves. As she relived the pain, tears began to fall down her cheeks again.

Behind her, Danny walked over to stand right beside her. He noticed her tears and became quite concerned. "What's wrong, Laurie?"

"Oh, Danny. You scared me." Laurie said as she quickly tried to wipe the tears away.

"Sorry. I thought I made plenty of noise. You were miles away, though. Where were you?" Danny asked.

"That's silly. I was right here." Laurie said trying to cover.

"Laurie, I'm not a baby. I can handle whatever it is that's wrong. Tell me." When Laurie didn't say anything right away he continued, "You look like you could use the comfort of sharing your troubles."

Man, sometimes Danny sounded like a 40 year old. "Danny, really it's nothing." Laurie belied her words by having to wipe fresh tears from her cheeks.

"It has to do with Keith, doesn't it? It's his crazy fan isn't it?" Danny said hoping that if he brought the subject up she may be more willing to talk about it.

"Did you eavesdrop on us earlier tonight?" Laurie accused.

"No, honest. I didn't. But I did see Keith on his knees on the floor with Mom holding him before you closed the door behind you. What happened?" Danny told her.

"Danny, Mom would kill me if she knew we were talking about this." Laurie turned away and sat down on the couch.

"Then we won't tell her." Danny said logically as he sat down next to her. "Come on Laurie, he's my brother too. I have a right to know what's going on."

"Alright, but only because I'm going crazy sitting here not knowing what's happening." Laurie reluctantly agreed.

"That may not have been the best choice of words." Danny thought about the salutation on each of Keith's fan's letters.

Danny's comments caused Laurie to look at him more shrewdly. "What do you know that I don't?"

"You first." Danny said reverting to his own age. "Then I'll tell you what I know."

"Alright, Keith got a note tonight that said Anne was dead. It was written in such a way that it made it sound like the person writing the note had actually had a hand in killing Anne." Laurie realized that what she said may sound too frightening for a 13 year old so she lightened it with, "But, we don't even know if she's really dead or not."

"If the note is from who I think it is, then she's dead alright." Danny said contemplatively.

"What do you know, Danny Partridge?" Laurie suspected that Danny knew much more than she did and here she'd been trying to protect him from the ugly truth.

"Well, first you have to promise me that you won't say anything to Keith and maybe not even Mom." Danny bargained for his innocence.

"You know I won't promise either one of those things." When Danny looked like he was going to clam up, Laurie continued, "spill it or I'll make sure they both know that you know something."

After contemplating his options, Danny finally decided to tell Laurie what he knew.

"Well, it's like this, I've been watching Keith pretty closely since he started showing up on the cover of all those fan magazines." Danny admitted.

"You mean you've been spying on him and invading his privacy?" Laurie clarified.

"That's not the best spin, but it has some basis in reality." Danny smiled wryly in recognition of Laurie's assessment.

He continued quickly when it looked like Laurie was going to scold him. "He's been getting letters from this fan who's labeled herself Juliet for more than 2 years now."

"What? You're kidding. How come no one else knows about them?" Laurie asked shocked.

"He always read them in his room and, instead of passing them on to Reuben, he threw all of them away. I liberated them from the landfill." Danny smiled smugly.

"Alright, what did these liberated letters say?" Laurie decided against arguing Danny's version of his spying.

"They started out like most of Keith's fan letters." At Laurie's raised eyebrows questioning how Danny knew what Keith's fan mail said, Danny continued quickly, "She started out declaring her love for him and pointed out how much they had in common. She'd dissect all of Keith's songs and point out how they pertained to the two of them and their love for each other. It was all quite nauseating."

"What else?" Laurie prodded. This was truly amazing to her.

"Well, as time went by, it was obvious that she wasn't just a normal fan, but truly obsessed. Keith was all she thought about day or night. She would ramble on about what their future together would be like." Danny shared some of the highlights from some of the stranger letters.

"I wonder why Keith threw them away instead of telling someone." Laurie wondered if something couldn't have been done if Keith had just told someone.

"Why would he tell someone that he had a fan? He has thousands if not millions." Danny pointed out.

"Yeah, but she wasn't, isn't normal." Laurie pointed out.

"How was Keith supposed to know that? Besides, most of the letters were postmarked from Europe." Danny just remembered that important piece of information.

"So, why didn't Reuben know about her? All the fan mail goes to his office." Laurie suddenly remembered.

"No, this girl knew our address. They all came directly to the house." Danny told her.

"How? Our address is not public knowledge. You'd have to be a local to know where we lived." Laurie frowned.

"Yeah, I'd thought of that too. Do you suppose we know who she is?" Danny asked finally concerned.

"Oh, man, I hope not. Besides it's pretty obvious that this girl is sick. We'd know if someone that demented was living around us, right?" Laurie looked at Danny for confirmation.

"Right." They both would have taken comfort in that thought if they'd thought it was true.

"You know I kept all of the letters. Do you suppose the police will want to see them?" Danny asked.

"I would think so. We'll have to talk to Mom when she gets back. They've been gone a long time. I sure hope everything is ok. That Keith is ok." Laurie said looking at the clock again.

"He's fine. Mom's with him. She wouldn't let anything bad happen to him." Danny said.

Laurie smiled to herself to see her brother revert back to his true age. He still had blind faith in their Mom's ability to protect them from the big, bad world. Too bad Laurie didn't believe that any more. She'd have felt much better.

"Well, it looks like they won't be back for quite some time. Why don't you go back to bed and get some sleep. I'll wake you when they get here." Laurie offered.

"I guess." Danny stood up and headed toward the bedroom before turning around, "Laurie, everything's going to be alright, isn't it?"

"I don't know Danny, but I sure hope so." Laurie couldn't lie.

xoxo

The three of them were sitting back in the same interrogation room from the night before. Keith stared at the table, his arms wrapped tightly around himself holding his jean jacket close even though the room was quite warm. Keith barely responded when Reuben or Shirley tried talking to him. Eventually they stopped trying to draw him out and the three of them sat in silence until the door opened to admit Detective Anderson and another detective who they had not met before.

"Hello, again. I understand you have some new information for us." Detective Anderson said as he took a chair across the table from them.

"Yes, my son received this note with a bouquet of flowers after the show tonight." Shirley said as she handed over the paper.

The detective took out his pen to unfold the page of paper so as not to get his finger prints on it. He suspected that several other people had already touched it and it likely didn't hold any real leads for them, but it was part of his training.

As he read the note he couldn't stop his eyebrows from rising. "Well, this certainly is interesting to say the least."

"If it's true, then this is all my fault." Keith said.

"Keith, how many times do I have to tell you that's not true." Shirley said exasperated at her son's refusal to listen to her.

"Why do you think it's your fault?" The detective asked.

"Because it's true." Keith said guiltily. He had yet to raise his eyes from the table.

"Keith stop that. It is not your fault." Shirley said again hoping that one of these times Keith would actually hear her and believe her. "Detective, could you please set my son straight?"

"I can't do that." Though he still hadn't raised his head, Anderson noticed Keith's sad smile of acceptance at his comment. He continued with, "Not yet anyway. I don't know what's going on yet. Care to fill me in?"

"Since the start of our tour, Keith's been getting a bouquet of flowers from a fan who calls herself Juliet. They come on the last show of each venue. Though Keith tried keeping it from me, I knew that the flowers were from the same person each time. She's been following us since the second week of June." Shirley told the story because Keith did not seem so inclined.

Detective Anderson watched Keith closely but did not respond to Shirley's comments.

"Detective, my son is very popular with the female population. He gets thousands of fan letters ever week. How do we find out who this girl is?" Shirley continued trying to help, but the Detective was starting to realize that he needed to hear the story from Keith and that wasn't likely to happen with his mother present. He'd noticed Keith casting furtive glances her way as if he knew she was way off base, but had no plans to correct her. There were likely things he didn't want his mother to hear.

"Mrs. Partridge, could I speak to you and Mr. Kincaid outside for a minute?" The detective asked as he rose from his chair.

"Yes, I suppose so." Shirley said and followed him out of the room with Reuben right behind her.

"Mrs. Partridge, I'm starting to suspect that Keith doesn't want you to hear the truth. He's hardly said anything since I came in and he won't look at anyone." Detective Anderson got right to the point.

"Yes, but he hasn't been able to really look at me since he read the note." Shirley confirmed.

"Would you mind if I spoke to him alone?" The detective asked hoping she would agree.

"I don't know. He's still very upset." Shirley hadn't wanted to leave Keith alone in the room much less have him questioned without her present.

"What if I allow you to watch us from the other side of the mirror? You'll be able to hear everything that's said, but Keith won't know you're there. It may make him feel less vulnerable." The detective was very convincing.

"I suppose that would be alright." Shirley answered tentatively.

"Bob, please show them to the observation area and make them comfortable. I'll give you a few minutes to get settled then go back in and talk to Keith." Detective Anderson assured them. When Shirley hesitated again, he continued, "You'll only be a few steps away if he needs you. Please, let me try to get him to open up. I think he's afraid that what he has to say may hurt you."

"Come on, Shirley. Let's let the Detective do his job. Keith needs to get this out and he hasn't been able to do that yet." Reuben put his hand on Shirley's arm and steered her towards the door just down the hall. Shirley allowed him to lead her away reluctantly.

The detective walked down the hall to a vending machine and purchased a coke to take back into the interrogation room. He hoped if he came bearing gifts Keith might actually look at him.

"Hey, Keith, I'm back and I brought you something to drink. Coke alright?" The detective said as he walked in, set the bottle down on the table and took the chair across from Keith.

Keith looked at the closed door but did not look at the detective, "Where's my Mom?"

"I asked her if I could have some time alone with you. She very reluctantly agreed." The detective chuckled at his own joke. Keith simply nodded.

"So, do you want to tell me what you know about this 'Juliet'?" The detective started with an open ended question.

"Do I have a choice?" Keith said as he grabbed the bottle and took a swig to help wet his dry throat.

"Of course you do. Keith, you're not in any trouble here. You know that, right?" The detective assured him.

"If you call getting someone killed not being in trouble, then I guess you're right." Keith said as he pushed the bottle away from him. It wasn't sitting very well in his stomach. "Juliet has been writing to me for more than 2 years and I even suspected that she was capable of hurting someone. She told me as much. Does that sound like someone who couldn't have stopped this?"

Keith finally looked at the detective and Anderson was shocked to see the haunted look in the young man's eyes. This kid truly believed he was responsible for his girlfriend's death.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"How do you figure that?" Anderson asked.

"You read the note. It's pretty obvious that Anne is dead because Juliet thinks that I shouldn't be seeing anyone but her." Keith's tone was firm and accepting.

"You said that she's been writing to you for years. Have all of her notes been this demented?" Anderson asked as he flipped his hand at the piece of paper sitting on the table.

"No. Not really. Just delusional." Keith answered.

"What do you mean?" Detective Anderson leaned forward.

"It started out like most fan letters, you know?" Keith shifted in his chair. Fan letters were part of his life, but he didn't particularly like the adulation that was a part of them; girls declaring their love for him when they didn't even know him.

"Well, actually, I've never received fan mail. You might have to be more specific." Detective Anderson tried to infuse a little lightness into the conversation. His comments did not get the response he'd hoped for.

Keith wiped his hand down his face. He did not want to talk about this, but he had no choice. "She started out like some of them do. They tell me how much they love our music and somehow leap to the conclusion that they love me too." When had he become so negative about his fan mail? He normally loved to hear from his fans. Juliet had truly screwed with his perceptions.

"They don't even know me. I'm just a picture in a magazine and a voice on an album." Keith finished a little lamely.

"So, you don't like your fans?" Detective Anderson was hoping to get Keith to realize that he was painting a picture with a very broad brush. This situation was much more specific and very different from normal – even normal for someone adored by millions of girls.

"No. Yes. What I mean is that, yes, I like our fans. They're wonderful, for the most part." Keith said slightly confused at what he was actually trying to say. "Fan mail is normally harmless and very flattering. I don't even see most of it. It goes directly to Reuben's office and they handle making sure that a picture is sent out, you know?"

"Go on." Anderson didn't want to stop him. He'd finally started talking and he knew eventually they'd get to the point.

"A lot of it comes from girls too young to even know what they're asking for. But, some of it comes from girls, women, who know exactly what they want." Keith smiled wryly at the differences in the fans.

"I'm sure you find that fascinating, huh?" Keith said sarcastically.

"Actually I do. Your life is very different from anything I will ever experience." Anderson assured him.

"Well, you can have it." Keith offered.

"You don't mean that." Anderson pointed out. "It's just that right now, this one fan has altered the way you look at things. She's altered your life."

"Not as much as she's altered Anne's life." Keith said bitterly.

"We're not sure that what she said is true." Anderson pointed out.

"You don't believe that any more than I do." Keith pressed his fingers into his temples. When in the world had he gotten such a bad headache?

"No, you're right, I don't." Anderson finally admitted.

His answer brought Keith's eyes up quickly, "So, someone finally admits to me that it's true. That I'm guilty of getting my girlfriend killed."

"Keith, I didn't say that." Anderson pointed out. "I just agreed that this 'Juliet' is capable of doing what she wrote."

"Which makes me guilty." Keith pointed out.

"No, I don't think so." Anderson continued, "How can you be responsible for someone else's actions? You never even wrote back to this girl much less talked to her. Did you?"

"No, I threw all of her letters away after reading them. I wanted to throw them away without reading them, but I just couldn't. Every time I felt compelled to read it and then I'd feel sick afterwards." Keith admitted.

"That doesn't sound to me like someone who's responsible for what happened." Anderson pointed out.

"But, if I had told someone….." Keith trailed off.

"Told them what? Did she ever threaten Anne before this note?" Anderson asked.

"No, but shouldn't I have known?" Keith asked.

Finally, a speck of doubt in Keith's feelings of guilt.

"Keith, how could you have known if she didn't tell you? This 'Juliet' is obviously a very sick individual. I would say she has some severe mental problems. You're neither a trained psychiatrist nor a psychic. There's no way you could have known what she was capable of." Anderson hoped he was getting through.

"She wasn't even in the states until recently." Keith added finally able to see that maybe he couldn't have stopped this.

"Really? Where was she?" Anderson asked.

"The postmarks all said Switzerland." Keith told him.

"When did she get here?" Anderson was starting to wonder how long Keith had been followed without his knowledge. This girl obviously had seen Keith with Anne. How else would she have known about her?

"I don't know, maybe the middle of May or so. I got a letter from her about that time with a postmark of New York."

"She obviously has money." Anderson said.

"How do you figure that?" Keith asked.

"Well, she's been in Switzerland, New York and every other city you've been in since you started your tour. Also, a bouquet of flowers isn't cheap. I ought to know, I had to send an apology bouquet to my wife just last week." Anderson was running through the facts that they knew so far. This girl had some means. They should be able to find her.

"My mom has had Reuben trying to find out who's been at our last performance in each city. I don't think he's come up with anything yet." Keith told him.

"Well, we have a few more contacts than your manager I'd be willing to bet." Anderson was sure that Bob who was listening with Mrs. Partridge in the other room had already gotten someone started on the search. They'd have this 'Juliet' in no time.

"Anything else you can think of that you should share?" Anderson asked.

Keith thought for a minute, "I don't think so."

"In that case, go back to your hotel and get some sleep. We'll be in touch in the morning and let you know what we found out. Maybe we'll be able to tell you that we have Juliet in custody and that we've found Anne." Anderson left out the fact that they were only likely to find Anne's body.

xoxo

When they reached the hotel, the sun was already coming up over the horizon. If they were to make their next show in San Antonio, they'd need to leave that night yet. They'd told Detective Anderson to contact them as soon as he knew anything. They'd wait for him until the last minute.

Shirley was concerned about Keith getting some sleep so they finally decided that Keith would go to Reuben's room with him and just sleep until he woke up. No one would disturb him and Reuben would be there to watch over him. His Mom hadn't voiced the last point, but he knew that she didn't want him to be alone right now. He honestly couldn't disagree with her on that one. Though he needed time to think and process what had happened, he wasn't sure he wanted to be completely alone. Reuben was the perfect companion for that. He wouldn't force Keith to talk yet he'd be there if he wanted to.

They parted ways at the elevator and Shirley went back to the family suite while Keith and Reuben headed the other direction.

Shirley let herself in and found Laurie curled up on the couch. She looked very uncomfortable. Shirley wondered how much sleep she'd actually gotten. She smiled tenderly at her eldest daughter. She was such a big help to her at home and on the road. What would she do without her?

That thought made her think about Anne's parents. What if it was true? What if Anne was truly dead? How would her parents react? Would they blame Keith?

"Mom?" Laurie had woken up when Shirley put her purse down on a table. "Where's Keith?"

"He's with Reuben. I thought it best if he got some sleep before he was bombarded by the boundless energy of his fully rested three younger brothers and sister." Shirley smiled.

"Makes sense. How is he?" Laurie asked.

"Better. He's still way too quiet, but I think he'll be alright." She added 'eventually' in her head but didn't want Laurie worrying too much.

"You look like you could sleep for a couple of days yourself. I can keep the kids quiet. Why don't you go to bed?" Laurie offered.

"Laurie, if you were on that couch all night then you didn't get much sleep yourself. I'll be fine." Shirley assured her daughter.

"Mom, I wasn't at the police station all night. I actually slept quite a few hours." Laurie assured her though it was a little white lie. If she'd slept for an hour that was about it. "Besides, Keith will need you over the next few days and weeks so you better make sure to catch sleep whenever you can. Like right now."

Laurie led her mother to the bedroom door, opened it and pushed her through. "Just send Tracy out here if she wakes up without me noticing." She said as she closed the door behind her mother.

xoxo

"I was sleeping in this bed, so the other one is all yours." Reuben said as he sat down on the bed nearest the bathroom.

"That's fine." Keith said as he walked over to the window and looked out over the waking city.

"Aren't you tired?" Reuben asked barely able to keep his eyes open.

"Sure." Keith said absently.

"Alright, I'll use the bathroom first." Reuben said as he watched his singer lean heavily against the wall.

When Reuben exited the bathroom ten minutes later in his pajamas and robe, he realized that Keith didn't have any clothes other than what he was wearing. "What are you going to sleep in?"

"Hmmm?" Keith glanced back over his shoulder.

"I just realized that we didn't stop to get your suitcase. What are you going to do for clothes?" Reuben tried again now that he had Keith's attention.

"Oh, I guess I'll just sleep in my shorts. I can get fresh clothes later." Keith said and turned back to the window not really concerned about something so trivial.

"Aren't you going to go to sleep now?" It looked like Keith had made himself comfortable leaning against the wall.

"Yeah, in a minute." Keith had already become absorbed in the scene below him.

'Good thing he wore a night mask' was all Reuben could think as Keith continued to stare outside, the bright sunlight streaming into the room.

Reuben made himself comfortable and told himself he'd stay awake until Keith settled down. Unfortunately for him he was too tired to keep that promise and was lost to a dream world in ten minutes.

Keith heard Reuben's soft snoring and smiled to himself knowing that he was finally alone with his thoughts.

They weren't pretty, that's for sure. He kept wondering how long it would be before the police found Anne's body. He wondered if they'd be able to figure out who Juliet was. He wondered if he'd ever be able to live with the guilt that was gnawing at him like a hungry dog.

He wondered if anyone had thought about what would happen once the press got a hold of this story. His name would be mud. Would they be able to sell tickets anymore? Would they be able to sell albums anymore? Was their career over? All because of him and his biggest fan. Had he ruined his family's future?

Keith ran his hand down his face and walked to the bathroom. He wondered if Reuben had any aspirin. His headache hadn't let up at all. His head was killing him.

He found aspirin and a prescription bottle in Reuben's shaving kit on the counter. He shook out two aspirin and swallowed them quickly with a glass of water. He then paused to look more closely at the prescription bottle. He read the label and found that Reuben had a full bottle of sleeping pills. Reuben had always complained about how hard it was to sleep in hotel rooms. He must have finally done something about it.

Keith held the bottle for a while and even contemplated taking one. What the hell, why take just one? Why not the whole bottle? That would solve all of his problems, wouldn't it? He shook them out into his hand.

xoxo

Shirley woke up to a ringing phone. She glanced at the nightstand to see that it was noon. She'd slept much longer than she thought she would but still not enough to make her feel fully rested.

She got up, grabbed her robe and walked into the outer room. She glanced over to see Laurie on the phone.

"She's still sleeping, Detective, but I'll go get her. I know she'll want to talk to you. Just a moment, please." Laurie set the phone down and turned to find her Mother watching her. "Oh, Mom, Detective Anderson is on the phone for you."

"I'll take it in the bedroom." Shirley said as she turned back around and closed the door behind her. She'd noticed her three youngest were watching TV and she didn't want to have to watch what she said.

"Hello?" Shirley said into the phone. As she heard the detective answer in kind, she heard the light click on the line that meant Laurie had hung up the extension. "What have you found out?"

"Not much, Mrs. Partridge. We can't find any hotel reservations in any of the cities that you've been in on the dates you gave us that match up. We went over to the venue to check on the flowers, but they weren't there. Do you know what happened to them?" Detective Anderson asked.

"Oh, I completely forgot. It's part of our contract. Any items that we receive from fans are to be distributed to local hospitals or children's homes." Shirley explained. "They likely got shipped to one of the hospitals. The venue manager should know which one."

"How many possible places are we talking?" Detective Anderson wanted to know.

"Well, it could be several. You see we get, well actually Keith gets, many gifts sent to him everywhere we go. Flowers, stuffed animals and other small gifts. If we tried taking them with us, our bus would be filled to overflowing in no time at all." Shirley was amazed at how generous their fans were.

"Ah, I see." Detective Anderson was still trying to wrap his head around this whole being famous idea that the Partridges lived with every day. "So, instead of taking them with you, you share the goodies?"

"Well, on occasion, one of the kids will get something they want to keep. Usually it's something more personal like a scrap book compiled by a fan or maybe a personal drawing. We have very talented fans." Shirley smiled remembering some of the better pieces of art and some of the extensive scrap books that she'd seen over the years.

"I don't suppose you remember seeing a flower shop name on that particular arrangement do you? It would save us a world of time instead of having to chase down which hospital it may have ended up at." The Detective asked hopefully. If she didn't, he was looking at a full day of chasing around the city. Well, one of the new detectives would do the chasing, but he'd be waiting to hear back from them for longer than he'd like.

"Sorry, with Keith's reaction to the note, I didn't even think to look. What does that mean for time?" Shirley asked realizing the same thing the detective had.

"Well, we're not likely to find out the name of the shop before it closes today so we won't be able to talk to anyone until tomorrow." The detective admitted.

"Oh, no. That means we won't even be in the city anymore. We need to leave today for San Antonio. Is that going to be a problem? I mean, you don't need us here to continue your investigation do you?" Shirley realized that they may need to alter their schedule.

Of course, if Keith didn't feel up to performing, they may have to alter their schedule anyway. Oh, why hadn't she thought of that sooner? She should have at least broached the subject with Keith last night so he'd have some time to think about it.

"No, you can go to your next show. That shouldn't be a problem. Just call me with a new contact number so that I can get a hold of you." The Detective answered.

"I've got your card in my purse. I'll call you as soon as we check in." Shirley assured him. "Good luck with finding the arrangement. And, please, call me as soon as you have any information. Anything at all."

"I will. And, if you or Keith think of anything else we should know, you'll do the same, right?" At Shirley's affirmative answer he continued, "I'll also be contacting the San Pueblo police and the Oregon State Police with any information I gather. This has turned into a multi-state search."

"Well, with so many people working on this, you should be able to catch her pretty quickly, right?" Shirley asked hopefully.

"That's the plan. Hopefully this will all be over in a few days." Detective Anderson said not really believing it. He'd never been a part of a multi-state search that had worked out well. But, he'd do his part in his city and hope for the best. "I'll also be contacting San Antonio so that they can possibly set up a sting and catch the girl as she buys the next floral arrangement. If all else fails, that should be the game breaker. There's no way she can make the purchase without being found out."

Shirley rang off with the Detective with a little hope in her heart. She decided that showering was the next order of the day and then they'd need to decide what to do next.

xoxo

Laurie had heard her Mom start the shower and knew when she'd finished. She waited until she knew she'd be dressed then knocked lightly on the door opening it slowly, "Mom?"

"Come on in, honey." Shirley answered from the vanity in the bedroom. She was just finishing her make-up.

"Mom, what happens next?" Laurie asked.

"I was just trying to figure that out myself. I was going to head to Reuben's room as soon as I was ready and find out how Keith's doing. After that, we need to talk about whether or not the tour continues."

"Oh, Wow. I hadn't thought of that. Do you think Keith will want to go on?" Laurie asked as she sat down on the end of the bed.

"I really don't know what he wants to do. If I had to judge from last night, I'd say we're heading home. But, I don't want to speak for your brother." Shirley said as she applied mascara.

"He was really that bad, huh?" Laurie asked.

"Well, you saw him in the dressing room. Whoever this person…" Shirley said the word with distaste, "is, she's sick and she may very well have taken an innocent life. And, though he's not to blame, your brother has taken full responsibility. He blames himself for not telling anyone about her before all this happened. But how could he have known?"

"Yeah, Danny said that she's been writing for years and though her letters were sometimes kind of creepy, they didn't sound deranged." Laurie looked up to see her Mother looking at her in shock. "Oh, umm, I guess I didn't tell you that yet, did I?"

"No, you didn't. Maybe we should get Danny in here." Shirley suggested.

"I'll get him." Laurie offered quickly and got up to do just that.

"What's up?" Danny said as he entered the room to see his mom dressed and ready for the day. She was pacing the room with a frown on her face.

"Alright, Danny, tell me everything you know about Keith's fan." Shirley said without preamble.

"Oh, uh, sure." He shot a look that said, 'you could have warned me' at Laurie and turned back to his mother.

He confessed about how he'd been spying on Keith for years and that he had read every letter he'd ever gotten from Juliet. He also mentioned that he happened to keep each and every one of them though they were starting to take up too much space in his safe. He'd recently thought about throwing them away himself but hadn't quite been able to bring himself to do it.

Shirley grabbed him and hugged him tightly, "Thank goodness you are so nosy."

"What?" Danny and Laurie said in unison.

"I never thought I'd be thankful that you eavesdrop, spy and pay way too much attention to what everyone else is doing, but this time you may just have helped us out immensely. As soon as we get home, you are turning those letters over to the police, alright?" Shirley beamed at her middle son.

"Sure, Mom." Danny said completely confused by his mother's strange reaction.

xoxo

Reuben rolled over and groaned at the shaft of sunlight that penetrated his eyelids. Why were the curtains open? Where was his night mask? Man, he still needed another 4 hours of sleep at least.

As consciousness finally penetrated he remembered that he hadn't put his night mask on because he'd meant to stay awake until Keith went to bed. At that thought, his eyes shot open and he looked at the other bed. It was empty and appeared untouched. His eyes scanned the room and found no one else present. Where was Keith?

His eyes scanned the room again when he noticed a bottle of aspirin on the night stand. Where had that come from? It looked like his bottle, but that was in his shaving kit in the bathroom, wasn't it?

At that thought, Reuben suddenly remembered the full bottle of sleeping pills in the same shaving kit. Keith had to have seen them if he'd been in the kit. He wouldn't have taken any would he?

"Keith!" He said loudly. When he got no answer he threw back the covers and yelled, "Keith!"

His shouts were met with total silence.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

In his haste, Reuben stumbled out of the bed, tripped over the covers that had landed on the floor, stubbed his toe on the dresser that he rammed into and finally made it to the closed bathroom door. He swallowed heavily and tried the knob. It turned easily in his hand so he pushed the door open. The room was empty. Oh thank God! He ran over to the shaving kit and found the bottle of sleeping pills. The cover wasn't on tightly, but it appeared that all of the pills were there.

Keith had seen them, but decided against taking them. Reuben sagged against the vanity in relief. If Keith had taken them, Reuben would never have forgiven himself. Shirley had put him in charge of watching over Keith and what had he done? He'd fallen asleep.

His relief still washing over him, Reuben finally realized that he was not out of the woods yet. Where was Keith?

Reuben headed back out into to the room to look for a note. Maybe Keith had gone back to the family suite. If he had, he'd have let Reuben know. Nothing.

Reuben had just finished throwing on a suit and was heading toward the hotel room door when he heard a key in the lock. Once again relief washed over him as a heavily disguised Keith walked into the room.

"Where the hell have you been?" Reuben shot at him before Keith even realized he was standing right in front of him.

"Oh, hi, Reuben." Keith stepped back in surprise.

"Don't you, 'oh, hi Reuben' me. I asked you a question." Reuben was practically yelling.

Keith looked at Reuben as if he had two heads. Well, that wasn't too far from the truth. Reuben hadn't bothered to comb his hair, and his hair was sticking up in several directions at present.

"Ummm…..I forgot what it was." Keith answered in shock at Reuben's attack and his appearance.

"Where have you been?" Reuben repeated his anger building with every breath.

"I went for a walk." Keith said as he took a baseball cap off his head to let his long hair tumble down around his shoulders. He removed the sunglasses he'd been wearing as well.

"You did what?" Reuben asked in shock.

"Walk. You know, that thing you do by putting one foot in front of the other?" Keith said sarcastically. "What in the world is wrong with you?"

"Well, I got up and you weren't here. I guess I panicked a little." Reuben admitted the wind quickly leaving his sails.

"A little." Keith said in surprise. "That's an understatement."

"Sorry. I couldn't find you and I knew your mother would kill me if anything had happened to you." Reuben continued in apology.

"Well, I'm fine. So stop worrying." Keith assured him as he pushed past him to fully enter the room. "Oh, and you might want to try getting dressed again."

"What?" Reuben looked down at himself to notice that his suit coat was buttoned incorrectly and his tie was pulled tight to the collar of a shirt that had suffered the same fate. "Oh, right."

He disappeared in the bathroom and stripped down to start his morning all over again; this time going through his normal routine. When he exited the bathroom this time he finally felt like his old self. He found Keith leaning against the wall. Hadn't he fallen asleep to the same scene last night?

"Did you sleep at all?" Reuben asked.

"Sure." Keith answered but Reuben didn't believe him.

"Well, shall we go to the family suite and see what has transpired since last night?" Reuben asked.

"Alright." Keith said and turned away from the window. With the sunlight fully lighting his face, it was obvious to Reuben that he'd been right to not believe Keith's claim of getting some sleep. He looked exhausted.

They headed out the door and down the hallway to the family suite. Keith knocked on the door as he didn't have a key. Within seconds, the door was pulled open by Tracy who happily threw herself at Keith. "Hi, Keith. I missed you!"

"Hi short stuff. I missed you too." Keith said as he picked her up and carried her back into the room. He was glad for her uncomplicated greeting. He knew the rest of his family would greet him with more reserve and with plenty of questions.

"Hi, Keith. How did you sleep?" Shirley asked with fake cheerfulness as soon as she saw her eldest.

"Great!" Keith answered in kind. He knew she wouldn't believe him, but he wasn't about to tell her the truth.

He'd actually tried sleeping, it just hadn't ended well. He hadn't been asleep for more than 15 minutes when the dream started. He'd been on a beach with Anne and they were making love. It had been beautiful. After holding her in his arms while their heart rates returned to normal, Anne had laughingly gotten up, put on her clothes and walked away. She'd said she needed to get something from the car. He'd let you go, but told her to hurry back. But instead of getting something out of the car, she'd hopped in and driven off. As he'd watched her drive away, he couldn't figure out what she was doing. A few short minutes later, he saw her car come plummeting down the sheer rock cliff that was behind him. The car had landed a few hundred yards away and Keith could see the mangled wreckage smoldering. As he'd approached the car, he'd seen her battered body. She'd been screaming in pain and reaching out to him for help. As he started running toward her, the car had burst into flames throwing him back. That's when he'd woken up with a start, her screams echoing in his head.

It was also when he'd decided to go for a walk to clear his head. He'd gone downstairs, bought a hat and sunglasses from the gift shop and then wandered the streets for hours anonymously. He just knew he didn't want to fall asleep again.

"Chris, Tracy, why don't you go watch TV in the bedroom?" Shirley suggested shooing them out of the room as they did as she requested.

"Any word from Detective Anderson? Have they found Anne?" Keith asked as soon as Shirley had closed the door behind her two youngest.

"No, they haven't found Anne. In fact, they can't even find the flowers. The venue had already sent them to a hospital before they could get there." Shirley told him.

"What does that mean?" Keith asked.

"Well, it slows them down in the process of finding 'Juliet'." Shirley told him. "We likely won't know anything before we have to leave."

She watched him closely to see how he would react to that comment. When he just looked at her questioningly she continued, "If we're going to perform in San Antonio tomorrow night, we have to leave today."

"What do you mean _if_ we're going to perform?" Keith asked.

"Well, I wasn't sure how'd you feel about continuing the tour." Shirley answered.

"Oh, right." Keith looked at the floor and didn't say anything else. Did he want to continue the tour? Did he want to just go home and lick his wounds? Did he want Juliet to dictate his life? Did he want to dishonor Anne's name by continuing on as if nothing had happened?

Shirley watched her son struggle with the decision. She knew that she couldn't have decided in such a short time. In fact, she wasn't sure if she truly wanted to go on with the tour herself. Would Keith be able to handle the stress of the situation?

But, she also realized that her decision was secondary to Keith's. Whatever he decided, she would accept and deal with the outcome.

"Keith?" Laurie had been watching silently this whole time and she too had noticed Keith's struggle with the answer. When he looked at her, she continued, "Whatever you decide, we're behind you 100 percent."

"Yeah, either way. Good or bad." Danny threw in his support.

"So, which decision is good and which decision is bad?" Keith asked him solemnly.

"I haven't figured that out yet. Can I get back to you?" Danny frowned just then realizing how his offer of support had come off as a challenge for Keith to make the right decision; whatever that might be.

"Look, honey, you don't have to decide right now. We can go to San Antonio and still not perform if that's what you ultimately decide." Shirley pointed out.

"So, what you're telling me is that I have just over 24 hours to decide." Keith said looking at the clock on the wall.

"I guess so. Look, I'll help you make the decision if you want." Shirley offered.

"No, that's alright. I'll let you know in plenty of time." Keith sighed. "What about the press? Have they gotten wind of any of this yet?"

"Not yet. There was nothing in the paper and nothing on the news." Shirley was able to offer that little comfort. "The only story they have is the one of Anne's disappearance."

"How long can we keep her death from them?" Keith asked.

"Keith, we don't even know if that's true." Shirley felt like a broken record she'd told him that so many times. She also felt a little bit like a hypocrit. Just a few days ago, she'd been trying to prepare Keith for the possibility of Anne having been killed in a car accident or something else just as tragic, now she was trying to convince him that she wasn't dead so that he wouldn't blame himself. But she could see in his eyes that until Anne walked up to him to prove she was alive, Keith would never believe her.

Keith turned his back on his mother without comment and looked at Reuben. "Well, Reuben, how much time do we have?" Keith's actions had hurt his Mother horribly and if he'd been facing her he'd have noticed. As it was, only Danny and Laurie saw the effect.

"Well, hopefully being on the move we'll be able to keep it from them until the tour is over. If you decide to continue it, that is?" Reuben answered but didn't want to push. Everyone knew which camp he stood in. He was firmly on the side of continuing the tour. It was his job to keep the family working and making money. The only way to do that was to tour. If they cut it short by 3 weeks, they'd be losing out on all the money from the appearances as well as album sales in the cities they'd be skipping.

"Well then, let's head to San Antonio. I'll just go change." Keith said as he left the room to finally get at his suitcase. He'd been in the same clothes for way too long. He swore they smelled like the police station although he knew that was probably all in his head. Police stations didn't have a smell, did they?

xoxo

They hadn't left Dallas until late, so most of the occupants of the bus slept while Johnny drove them safely to the next city. Keith sat right behind Johnny and leaned on the bar so that they could talk quietly while Johnny drove. Neither one of them wanted to disturb the other occupants.

They talked about anything and nothing at all. Keith did it simply to stay awake and Johnny appreciated the company. The flat straight roads could lead to highway hypnosis if a driver wasn't careful.

Keith finally began to fill Johnny in on what was happening. He started out slowly and Johnny didn't push. Whatever the kid felt comfortable telling him was alright with him. He wouldn't judge and he wouldn't preach. Ultimately, Keith told him everything; even as far as confessing that he didn't want to sleep because he knew he'd dream. He didn't tell Johnny what the dream was about, but Johnny could guess.

Johnny would keep Keith's secret because there had been a time in his life, while he'd been locked up, that he hadn't wanted to sleep either. He could understand being haunted by something you'd done in your life. They were perfect company for each other right now.

"So, Johnny, what do you think I should do?" Keith finally asked.

"About what?" Johnny asked.

"Should I continue the tour or should I pack it up and go home?" Keith clarified.

"What do you want to do?" Johnny lobbed the ball back into Keith's court.

"You sure you're not a psychiatrist?" Keith looked at Johnny sharply in the mirror.

"Nope, I didn't even make it out of high school, kid. I just know that all important decisions in life can't be made for you." Johnny spoke with the wisdom of age and experience.

"Hmmm….lotta help you are." Keith pointed out.

"Well, if I made the decision for you, then ultimately you could blame me for anything that goes wrong. It's self preservation, pure and simple." Johnny admitted.

"Fair enough. But hypothetically speaking, if you were in my shoes, what would you do?" Keith tried again. Johnny looked at Keith in the mirror above his head and noticed that he really wanted to hear what Johnny thought. He wasn't looking for someone to make the decision, but he needed a fresh perspective.

"Well, I have always found that if I let other people force me to make a decision that I really didn't want to make, I always regretted it." Johnny really thought that Keith should continue the tour but he didn't want to come right out and say it. If Keith called it off, in Johnny's mind, the psycho chick had won. She'd not only taken the life of someone close to Keith, but she'd also in a sense taken his life as well. After all performing wasn't just Keith's livelihood, it was what made life worth living.

"So, if this was any other time in my life, what would I do?" Keith asked.

"Yeah, that's a good way to look at it." Johnny agreed.

"I'd do the tour. I would never disappoint the fans. I enjoy performing way too much to give it up." Keith said firmly.

"Now that sounds like the guy I've seen on that stage enjoying the hell out of the experience." Johnny smiled at him through the mirror.

"But, what if I'm putting my family in danger?" Keith said all of a sudden not so sure of his decision.

"Well, that's one part of the equation we haven't talked about. Your Mom, and even Laurie and Danny, can make that decision for themselves, but Chris and Tracy? They're too young to know what's going on." Johnny hadn't thought of that angle. "Do you really think this fan is crazy enough to hurt someone in your family?"

"I don't know Johnny. I just don't know." Keith admitted.

"I mean the girlfriend angle I understand. She saw this Anne as a threat. But what could she have against your family?" Johnny asked.

"Yeah, maybe you're right. If she hurt my family she'd know I'd never forgive her, right?" Keith tried thinking like 'Juliet' but knew he likely had no idea how her brain processed information. After all, he'd never consider killing anyone. He was a peace lover.

"Look, kid. This'll sound pretty sappy coming from an ex-con like me, but all I can tell you is that you should do what your heart tells you to do with an assist from your head. Not the other way around." Johnny was waxing poetic. If pushed he'd blame it on the late hour and a tired mind.

"You're right that does sound funny coming from you." Keith pulled his lip up in the semblance of a sad smile though it didn't reach his eyes. He found Johnny's words somehow appealing. His heart was in performing. It was all he'd ever wanted to do. If she took that away from him she'd already won.

xoxo

Once they arrived in San Antonio, Keith informed the family that they would be performing as planned. When Shirley pulled him aside and questioned whether or not he could really do it, he assured her that he would be fine.

Shirley didn't necessarily believe him. He looked exhausted as if he hadn't slept in days and his famous smile had been absent since he'd found out that Anne was probably dead. How was he going to fool all of those people into believing that he was enjoying himself?

They set up, did a sound check and went to the hotel. Shirley put the youngest ones down for a nap knowing that though they'd slept for most of the drive it hadn't likely been a very good sleep. She and Laurie decided to run out and shop for some essentials. It ultimately happened that something needed to be replaced as it didn't come back from the hotel laundry or it was ripped or torn beyond repair. Keith had offered to stay in the suite and make sure the kids were ok.

Danny had fought taking a nap, but had fallen asleep soon after Shirley had forced him to lie down. That left Keith alone in the living room of the suite so he picked up his guitar and started playing. He wasn't feeling particularly creative so he picked out songs he already knew just to make some noise. While he played softly, he couldn't fight the yawn that overtook him.

Maybe if he just rested his eyes while he played, he thought. So, he leaned his head back, kept playing and closed his eyes. As exhausted as he was, he was fast asleep in no time. His guitar was firmly anchored in his hands so it didn't slip and wake him up. Within minutes, he was dreaming of Anne. It was the same dream. Every detail exactly the same and Keith could do nothing to change it. He simply played his part once again and jerked awake as the car exploded, Anne's screams echoing in his head.

He got up and began pacing the room. If he didn't sit back down, he wouldn't be tempted to fall asleep. He'd just have to stay awake.

Shirley and Laurie walked into the room to find Keith pacing in front of the sliding glass doors leading to the balcony. "Keith, is something wrong?" Shirley asked immediately.

"Wrong? No, why?" Keith stopped pacing and looked at her puzzled by her question.

"Well, you're pacing. You don't pace." Shirley reminded him. "If you're deep in thought, you pick up a guitar or sit down at a piano, but you definitely do not pace."

"Hmmmm……I never realized that. Laurie is that true?" Keith asked.

"Yes. How could you never realize that?" Laurie asked amazed at this absurd conversation.

"I don't know. I guess you're right though. Unfortunately, I'm not feeling very creative." Keith admitted.

"Oh, well, that explains it then." Laurie said not really believing that. She exchanged a concerned look with Shirley.

"Keith, are you sure you're all right?" Shirley tried again.

"I said I was, didn't I?" Keith snapped. His moods were swinging fairly quickly from sad to confused to belligerent and back again. He didn't notice it, but Shirley and Laurie did.

It was definitely from lack of sleep, but he refused to admit it and was now more than ever set against falling asleep.

xoxo

While out of the hotel, Shirley had checked in with the local precinct to find that Detective Anderson had been in touch with a colleague he had met at a recent conference. Detective Johnson had already sent detectives to all of the local florists to have them on the lookout for the purchase of a bouquet of Stargazer lilies to be delivered to the Partridge's last performance. They had all of the bases covered so long as the purchase was made in the metro San Antonio area.

Detective Johnson also assured Shirley that they had placed undercover men at the hotel and the venue for added protection. They'd be on the lookout for anything unusual. Unfortunately, all they knew about Juliet was that she was female and likely in her late teens. That meant that 50 percent of Keith's fans were likely suspects.

He wasn't optimistic about finding Juliet out in the open, but he was fairly certain that they'd nab her when she made the floral purchase. It was their best shot and they weren't taking any chances. The most likely shops had undercover people working as shop attendants and the other shops would have cruisers within easy distance if a call came in from the shop workers. They just didn't have enough manpower to put someone in each shop, but they'd do their best.

Shirley thanked him for his time and what appeared to her to be adequate coverage for her family. She'd sleep a little easier while they were in town knowing that San Antonio's finest were on the job.

She finally asked whether or not they'd received word from Oregon as to whether or not Anne or her car had been found. She was disappointed to hear that no new updates had been received. Anne was still missing and so was her car.

Shirley received the news with mixed emotions. She was at once grateful for the lack of news and disheartened that Anne was still missing. She hoped that no news was good news. After all, they had been looking for her car for almost two days now. If they hadn't found her yet, maybe Juliet had been lying.

Shirley told Keith about their visit to the police station and the fact that they still hadn't found Anne. "Keith, think about it. That's good news, right?"

"How so?" Keith looked at her skeptically.

"Well, maybe this proves that Juliet was lying. Maybe Anne is alright." Shirley pointed out.

"Mom, do you really think that if Anne was alright she'd be putting her parents or me through this worry? That's just not Anne. She's responsible." Keith reminded his Mom of the type of person that Anne was.

"I realize that Keith. But, maybe she's still alive just not able to contact her parents." Shirley tried again to help her son see the positive side of things.

"I don't see how that's any better. Unable to contact her parents means she incapacitated in some way. That is not a happy alternative." Keith said as he pushed past his mother inexplicably angry at her optimism. "I'm going to take a shower before we have to leave."

"Keith…." Shirley tried calling him back, but he just closed the bedroom door behind him.

xoxo

The tension in the dressing room could be cut with a knife. Shirley was worried by Keith's silence, but every attempt at conversation had been spiked by Keith either leaving the room or giving a just short of rude response. Keith for his part was just tired and not in the mood to talk. The silence was deafening when Reuben knocked on the door to let them know they were on.

"Are you sure you want to do this Keith?" Shirley tried one more time to get Keith to talk to her.

"I said I was, and I am. How many times do I have to tell you that?" Keith snapped as he looked at her in exasperation. He quickly walked out of the room and once again missed the hurt look on his mother's face.

"Mom, he doesn't realize what he's saying." Laurie said as she put her arm around her mother's sagging shoulders and watched her three younger siblings follow Keith out of the room.

"I know that, Laurie. I'm just so worried about him. I know he's not sleeping well and that he's under so much pressure. I'm afraid he's going to crack." Shirley admitted her fears to her daughter.

"And if he does, when he does, we'll be here for him." Laurie assured her mother.

"How did you get so wise?" Shirley smiled tiredly looking Laurie in the eye.

"I had a good teacher." Laurie winked at her mother. "Come on, in Keith's current mood, he's likely to start without us."

Keith had already picked up his guitar that he would start the show with and had begun adjusting the microphone to the exact height he desired. He barely glanced over his shoulder to make sure that Laurie and his Mom had taken their places behind their respective keyboards before he nodded to the emcee. Within seconds, the house lights were dimmed, the stage lights were turned on and the emcee was introducing them. 'Ladies and Gentleman, please welcome The Partridge Family!'

As the curtain began to part, Shirley held her breath.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Keith got them started with the guitar lick at the beginning of 'Am I Losing You'. When the time came, his voice soared out over the crowd, 'Something's in the wind' and Shirley finally let her breath out and a smile spread across her face. She was relieved beyond belief that Keith's playing and singing were the same as any other night. She'd still keep a close watch over him throughout the show, but so far so good.

Keith smiled and sang, chatted up the crowd and all around entertained the pants off the enthusiastic audience. If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she wouldn't have believed it. The sullen, sleep deprived teenager of earlier was nowhere to be seen. Keith was his usually exuberant, energetic self once again. It was like night and day. Shirley was just starting to believe that performing had been all he'd needed to pull him out of his funk when he turned from the mic to switch guitars. As soon as his back was to the crowd, his smile slipped off his face faster than Danny could calculate interest rates.

Dear Lord, the whole thing was an act. Performing hadn't lightened his mood at all; he was just putting on a good face – literally. As the set progressed, she noticed that Keith didn't interact at all with the rest of the family. At different times during the set he would usually turn around and smile at herself or Laurie. Or he'd make eye contact to get the next song started. Tonight, it was all done with head movements. It was like he refused to look at them.

When his smile disappeared again when he put his guitar down to start a group of songs that didn't require him to play, Shirley knew for sure that he was holding it together by pure stubbornness alone. He pulled the mic from the stand and sang the next few songs while wandering along the front of the stage. Never once did he wander into the audience, a time he usually enjoyed when they played at the type of venue they were playing tonight; a dinner club atmosphere with tables and a more relaxed crowd. It allowed him to flirt with the pretty girls closest to the stage. Tonight he kept his distance. Those who had seen previous Family shows would be the only ones who knew anything was different.

Shirley glanced off stage to notice Reuben frowning in realization himself. They shared a knowing look and Reuben shrugged as Shirley put on a false smile.

When Laurie started the opening notes of 'Summer Days', everyone in the family expected Keith to do his usual routine of visiting each one of the family members during the course of the song. He never once turned around as he charmed the crowd.

The Family's concern escalated as the show continued with Keith practically ignoring them completely. It was as if he was performing on his own. Though they played their instruments and backed him up vocally, he separated himself from them as effectively as if he'd built a wall.

Just before the end of the set, Keith would normally hand the microphone to Shirley to introduce her family. Once she had introduced Keith he would normally step aside to grab his guitar for the last song. Tonight, he put the microphone back in the stand and turned his back on his Mother to grab his guitar. Shirley was now, not only concerned but starting to get a little ticked. She hid her feelings and proceeded to make the introductions as per the norm.

The minute Shirley finished the introductions and returned to the keyboards, Keith started the opening chords of 'I Woke Up In Love This Morning'. As the final notes of the song faded, the crowd roared their appreciation. The family bowed their acceptance of the appreciation and waited for the curtain to close. If Shirley had had more time, she'd have laid into Keith for his rude and unusual behavior. As it was, she held her ground and glared at the back of Keith's head.

As soon as the curtain closed completely, Keith blew out a breath and pressed his fingers into his temples. Who would have thought that acting happy and carefree could cause so much stress and such a big headache? He was not only exhausted, but his head hurt so bad he was almost seeing double. He rolled his shoulders to relieve the tension and massaged his temples.

Shirley saw his actions and her anger turned to sympathy in the blink of an eye. He wasn't being rude and inconsiderate; he was just trying to hold it together. Dear Lord, how could she have missed that? If she didn't miss her mark, he was holding on by his fingernails at best.

As the cheering on the other side of the curtain raised to another level, Keith finally nodded to the stage hand to reopen the curtain. Thankfully the family was so well rehearsed, because before Keith could even think of signaling Chris, he had started the opening beat of 'I Can Feel Your Heartbeat'.

'Thank God, only two more songs', was all Keith could think as he forced his mind and body to focus.

He put everything he had left into the last two songs. 'Heartbeat' and 'I Think I Love You' were two songs that no one would have forgiven them if they hadn't performed. And though he'd wanted to throw his hands up in defeat, he'd forced himself to continue. It was hard to find the emotions to pour into the songs, but he dug deep and delivered possibly the best encore he'd ever performed.

As the family walked off with the cheers still following them, Keith realized that he had almost no energy left at all. He almost dropped his guitar before setting it in its stand and then felt like he was dragging himself down the hallway to the dressing room.

Danny had been just about to lay into Keith about the way he'd performed the set that night when he took a closer look at his brother. What he saw shocked him. Keith looked older than his 18 years and also looked like he was about to keel over. Danny looked at his Mother to see her reaction and wasn't surprised to see what looked almost like fear on her face. He swallowed his words and quickly herded Chris and Tracy into the changing rooms with Laurie close on his heels. He knew an adult conversation was about to take place and had no desire to be included in this one.

"Keith, sit down before you fall over." Shirley said as she led Keith to a chair and pushed him down. She knew he wasn't feeling up to par by his lack of fight. He simply fell into the chair and closed his eyes. "What is going on?"

Keith didn't have the energy at the moment to answer.

"Keith!" Shirley was concerned by his lack of response. "Are you alright?"

"Mom, I'm fine." Keith whispered. It was all he could muster.

"You are not." Shirley pointed out the obvious.

Keith struggled but finally opened his eyes. "Mom, I'm just really tired. Can we do this later?"

Reuben knocked and walked into the room. "What in the world was that?"

"Reuben, not now." Shirley instructed not taking her eyes from Keith. Reuben was surprised at her tone. Shirley was rarely short and never rude. She'd been both.

"No, we cannot do this later. Are you sick?" Shirley asked again. He'd never been this drained after a show even when he'd gone on while sick. Usually performing gave him more energy not less. It was often the reason they would drive home the night of a performance when they were close to San Pueblo. She and Keith both had too much nervous energy left to sleep anyway, so they would just drive home.

"No, I'm not sick." Keith assured her. He was getting some energy back though he still felt a little like a newborn colt. His legs were shaking and his head was spinning. He was a mess. Who knew lack of sleep could mess you up so badly.

"Then what's wrong?" Shirley asked again.

"Nothing really. I just haven't slept much in a couple of days." Keith finally admitted.

"Why not?" Shirley quizzed.

"Just can't. Isn't that enough?" Keith said defensively.

"No. There has to be a reason. Normally you sleep at the drop of a hat. If you're not sleeping, then there's something wrong. Do I need to take you to a doctor?" Shirley threatened knowing how much he hated doctors.

"No, no doctors…..please." He looked at her with the saddest eyes she'd seen in quite some time. It reminded her of every time Tracy misplaced one of her favorite toys.

"Then what is it?" Shirley was not giving up.

"Alright, alright. I'll tell you." Keith said and closed his eyes again. Should he tell her the truth? He almost had to. He was too tired to make up a good lie. Besides, she could usually see right through him when he tried lying.

Shirley was just about ready to shake him. She could tell he was stalling for time. What could it be? His reticence to talk was driving her crazy but she didn't want to push too hard. At least at this point he hadn't clammed up completely or stormed off. He'd been doing both things for the last couple of days.

"I haven't been able to sleep since the note from Juliet two days ago." Keith finally admitted.

"That's it?" Reuben said in relief.

"Why not?" Shirley wasn't as easily mollified as Reuben. If Keith couldn't sleep there was an underlying reason that needed to be explored.

Keith ran his hand down his face and blurted it out, "Because every time I try sleeping, I have a dream about Anne dying right in front of me."

"Oh, Keith." Shirley reached out and put her hand on the side of Keith's face. Tears sprang to her eyes and she looked at him with sympathy.

Shirley's look forced Keith to close his eyes again. His emotions were too close to the surface and he started talking again just to fill in the empty space. "She's with me and we're so happy. Then for some reason, she gets into her car and drives away from me. The next thing I know, her car comes crashing down not too far from me. She's screaming for me to help her."

Keith's voice cracked, but he continued, "I try running to her but just before I get to the car it explodes and throws me back. That's when I wake up."

He'd glossed over the vivid details, but hadn't lied. He hoped that would satisfy his Mom's curiosity.

When no one said anything, Keith opened his eyes to see his mother looking at him, tears still in her eyes, "So, I won't let myself fall asleep anymore."

"You haven't slept in more than three days?" Shirley asked in surprise.

"Only long enough to have the dream. Twice." Keith admitted.

"Keith you need to try again. Twice isn't that often." Shirley pointed out.

"It's the only two times I allowed myself to fall asleep. It happened both times within 15 minutes." Keith told her the missing pieces.

"What about if you took a sleeping pill?" Reuben asked. Keith needed sleep or the tour was over.

"Reuben, I don't want him taking sleep aids. He's too young." Shirley didn't like the prospect of her son becoming hooked on a sleep aid.

"Just for one night. What could go wrong? He can't get addicted after just one pill." Reuben tried again.

"I don't like it, Reuben." Shirley said but took a good look at her exhausted son. If he didn't sleep, and soon, he'd end up in the hospital.

"Shirley, it's either that or a doctor." Reuben pointed out.

"No doctors!" Keith said emphatically.

"Alright, but where do we get sleeping pills?" Shirley thought she had spiked the plan with that little problem.

"I have some." Reuben offered.

"Oh." That was definitely not supposed to happen. Now she almost had to let them try it.

"Reuben, if we try this. Can I bunk with you tonight?" Keith asked.

"I suppose. Why?" Reuben answered.

"Because, if the dream comes back and I don't wake up right away, I don't know what will happen." Keith saw Reuben's still questioning look. "I don't want to scare Chris or Danny if I wake up…..suddenly." He'd almost said screaming, but that seemed melodramatic seeing he'd only woken up startled both times before.

"I'm alright with that. Shirley?" Reuben looked at Shirley for her reaction.

"I'd rather have you near me, but I see your point. We'll give it a try and see how it goes. How strong are these pills, Reuben?" Shirley asked.

"Hmmm….Maybe we could try a half a pill?" Reuben suggested.

Shirley smiled gratefully at Reuben's suggestion. "That sounds better."

xoxo

This time Keith had stopped to pick up his suitcase so he'd have a change of clothes in the morning. He knocked on Reuben's door and was let in.

"Why don't you get ready for bed and then you can take the pill. How does that sound?" Reuben asked nervously. Now that the time had come he wasn't sure he wanted to deal with Keith's dream issues on his own. What if Keith woke up screaming and Reuben couldn't calm him down? Reuben didn't handle emotional situations very well.

"What are you nervous about? I'm the one who gets the dreams." Keith frowned at his Manager.

"Who's nervous?" Reuben said as he loosened his tie as if it was strangling him.

Keith just rolled his eyes and headed into the bathroom. He came out minutes later in his shorts and a t-shirt. It was too hot for pajamas. Keith sat down on the bed he would be sleeping in. At least, he hoped he'd be sleeping in it. He really was tired.

"Here. I already cut one in half." Reuben handed him the pill.

"Can I have some water?" Keith looked at the pill. He wasn't sure if it was his ticket to paradise or a rocket sled to hell. But, he was about to find out. Reuben had just come back with a glass of water.

Keith swallowed the pill and set the glass down on the night stand. He pulled back the covers and crawled under. He looked up to see Reuben watching him intently.

"Would you quit staring at me?" Keith asked.

"What, hundreds of people stare at you on a nightly basis and I can't?" Reuben seemed offended.

"Yeah, well, they aren't looking at me while I'm in bed." Keith pointed out.

"Fine, I'll just…..." Reuben said as he waved his hand vaguely and headed for the bathroom.

Keith turned on his side facing away from Reuben hoping he was asleep before Reuben came back. He didn't want to end the night in another staring contest.

xoxo

Reuben came out of the bathroom to find Keith sleeping peacefully. He turned off the lights in the room but left the light on in the bathroom. He intended to stay up and keep watch over Keith as he slept; hopefully for the entire night.

Reuben pulled the desk chair to the end of his bed, took a seat and propped his feet on the bed. He stared at the back of Keith's head waiting for something to happen. What, he wasn't sure but when it happened he would know it, right?

Reuben sat there for over an hour with the only movements from Keith being that of breathing. He was so dead to the world that he had yet to move. 'Bad choice of words, Kincaid', Reuben chastised himself internally. Death had come too close to them recently to be using the word lightly.

As Reuben began to relax and even consider dozing off, he noticed Keith roll over onto his back and noted that his eyes were moving rapidly under his closed eyelids. As Reuben sat forward to watch more closely, he noted that Keith's breathing had increased dramatically from the heavy sleep of earlier. Keith was definitely dreaming.

Soon, Keith began to fight his body's inability to move during the dream induced paralysis. His breathing became erratic and very labored. Reuben had just risen from the chair and was trying to decide whether or not to try to shake Keith awake when suddenly Keith sat upright in bed and screamed, "Anne, no!"

The sound was tortured and raw.

Reuben jumped back slightly as he could not control his surprise at Keith's quick return to the waking world. Or was he awake? His eyes were glazed and unseeing. He was staring at a spot across the room and it appeared that something terrifying was running like a film on the blank wall. Keith was now almost panting in panic.

"Keith?" Reuben said quietly; way too quietly for Keith to hear. When he realized that his voice was muted, Reuben tried again. "Keith, are you awake?"

When Keith didn't answer, Reuben finally moved forward to stand next to him. "Keith, can you hear me?"

As Reuben waited for his response, he finally realized that Keith was repeatedly whispering, "No, oh God no."

"Keith!" Reuben grabbed his shoulder and began shaking him. "Keith, wake up! It's Reuben. Come on kid, wake up!" The last was said in desperation.

Reuben noted that Keith's muscles were bunched and tense throughout his entire body. He shook his shoulder harder and continued to talk to Keith to reassure him that he wasn't alone.

All of a sudden, as if the puppet strings has been cut, Keith fell back to the bed in a dead sleep. His breathing almost immediately returned to a deep slow level. Reuben just stood there and stared at the strange phenomenon.

"What the hell just happened?" Reuben asked the quiet room.

Reuben's first urge was to call Shirley and get her to come to his room as quickly as possible. However, he knew that he would wake up the rest of the family if he called at this hour. He decided to wait a little longer. If Keith had another dream, he'd call her then. After all, Keith was sleeping peacefully now, right?

There were two more incidents during the next 4 hours and each time Reuben decided not to wake Shirley as Keith would fall back into a peaceful sleep. That's what the kids needed, right? Sleep.

As the sun began to rise, Reuben finally lost his battle to remain awake. He nodded off in the chair and didn't see Keith begin to stir as his body fought the effects of the sleeping pill and his mind forced the dream on him one last time.

Keith's body jerked awake, but he made no sound as the dream reached its horrifying end again. With his heart racing, Keith opened his eyes to find himself in a hotel room, not on a beach. There was no burning wreckage and no blood curdling screams. As he tried to slow his racing heart and rapid breathing, he glanced over to notice Reuben asleep in a chair facing him.

Keith glanced from Reuben to the clock on the nightstand. It was just after 5:30 in the morning. He'd slept for about 6 hours. So why did he feel like he'd just closed his eyes? His body felt like he'd been run over by a train and his brain felt sluggish. He ran his hand down his face hoping to wipe some of the sleep from his eyes. When that failed to make him feel more awake, he finally threw back the covers and tiptoed past Reuben to get a change of clothes from his suitcase. Maybe a shower was the ticket. It was worth a try.

Reuben slept through Keith's shower and right through the loud whir of the blow dryer. Keith stepped back into the room still feeling only half awake, but with the dream still fresh in his mind he had no desire to lie back down and try to sleep. He grabbed a hat and sunglasses and slipped quietly from the room. If Reuben had stayed up most of the night, Keith was sure he'd be back before Reuben even knew he'd left.

He needed fresh air. Something, anything to drive the cobwebs from his mind and exercise to push away the tension from his muscles. The shower had gone a long ways toward making him feel more human, but he needed to just get away. Be by himself. When the family was on the road, privacy was a rare treat. He hoped it was early enough that he could walk around the city without being recognized. It had to be or he was in trouble. He was too tired to run very far and if the girls started chasing him, today they'd get lucky because he'd have no choice but to let them catch him.

He used the reflection in the elevator door to make sure that his hair and eyes were covered and exited the car to an empty hotel lobby. He walked past a doorman who barely took note of his passing and headed toward the river. Water was supposed to be soothing so it seemed a likely destination.

xoxo

Two hours later, Reuben was startled awake by a knock on the door. He forced open his scratchy eyes and immediately noted Keith's empty bed.

"Keith?" He looked around the room quickly and once again headed to the closed bathroom door. Before he could open the door, the knock on the outer door sounded again reminding Reuben why he'd been woken up.

He changed his course and opened the door to a worried looking Shirley. "Good morning."

"How's Keith?" Shirley said without preamble.

"I'm not sure. He must be in the bathroom." Reuben said as he invited her in.

"What do you mean, must be in the bathroom?" Shirley asked as she walked by him, her eyes scanning the room for her son.

"Well, I just woke up and he's not in his bed, so he must be in the bathroom." Reuben told her.

"Oh, how did the night go?" Shirley asked as she took note of Reuben's rumpled and tired appearance.

"Strange." Reuben said reliving the evening in his mind's eye.

"Strange? Strange, how?" Shirley raised an eyebrow.

"Well, he had the nightmare about three times but never woke up. He'd sit bolt upright in the bed and scream 'Anne, No', but I'm pretty sure he wasn't aware of anything going on around him." Reuben explained.

"Oh?" Shirley urged Reuben to continue.

"He would never acknowledge me when I'd go over to him. He'd just keep mumbling something to himself and then a few minutes later, he'd lie back down and fall into a deep sleep." Reuben glanced at Keith's bed and relived every episode from the night before.

"Did it seem like he was getting any restful sleep?" Shirley asked.

"Yeah, a few hours at least. Between each dream, he appeared to be sleeping peacefully." Reuben assured her.

"Well, how long has he been in the bathroom? The best way to find out if he feels rested is to ask him." Shirley said and walked to the bathroom door.

As Shirley raised her hand to knock on the door, Reuben told her, "I'm not sure. A couple of hours ago I must have fallen asleep. Your knock on the door woke me up."

Shirley knocked a second time with no response. "Are you sure he's in here?"

"Well, where else could he be?" Reuben asked as Shirley opened the door to find the bathroom empty.

"He's not here!" Shirley looked at Reuben trying not to panic.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Keith walked for about an hour and realized that he was getting more and more tired instead of waking up. Taking the sleeping pill had not been a good choice, at least that's the way it appeared right now.

He reluctantly headed back to the hotel. Maybe he could find a quiet place to sit down and relax before heading back to Reuben's room. He needed to find someplace where he wouldn't be discovered.

He wandered through the front door, past the same disinterested doorman and saw a door with a semi-dark room on the other side. When he glanced in, it appeared empty, but he noticed a baby grand piano sitting on the far side of the room.

Keith glanced around the room again and still not finding anyone, he walked in and closed the door behind him. He pulled off his hat and glasses and wandered over to the piano. Running his fingers lightly over the keys, he noticed the rich melodic sound emitted by the quality instrument. It was more temptation than he could resist.

He set his hat and glasses on a nearby table and sat down at the keyboard. He ran his hands up and down the keyboard picking out notes and scales as he went, trying to warm up his hands before deciding what he wanted to play. As the music seeped into his soul, he closed his eyes and began to play with more purpose.

With his eyes closed, Keith did not see the young woman walk through the door she was certain she'd left open. As soon as she'd pushed through the door she'd heard the piano playing across the room. She'd been about to yell at whoever had trespassed on the closed club when she got a good look at who the culprit was. She was pretty far away, but she was pretty darn sure that the musician was none other than Keith Partridge. She'd heard that his family was staying in the hotel, but hadn't seen any of them to this point. But then again, why would she? It's not like any of them would frequent the nightclub. She was the assistant manager and was in charge of making sure the club was ready for each new night's festivities. She'd gotten up early this morning because a delivery of fresh fruit was being delivered for their luau scheduled for that evening. She'd just gotten it all stored properly when she'd been called away to talk to the hotel manager. She was just heading back to lock up and go back home for a quick nap when she'd stumbled upon her unexpected visitor.

She couldn't help but notice that he was very talented. She'd had no idea he could play the piano as well as he currently was. She'd known he played guitar, but then again, who didn't know that.

She quietly wandered closer and realized that he had no idea she was there. He was playing with his eyes closed. When she was within 30 feet, she quietly sat down in a chair to listen to whatever it was he was going to do.

Keith paused for a moment and frowned slightly before he began playing another tune. This time he started talking over the tune she'd never heard before and eventually began to sing the heartfelt words.

(spoken)

_See the funny little clown_

_See the puppet on a string_

_Wind him up and he will sing_

_Give him candy and he'll dance_

_But be certain not to feel _

_That his funny face is real_

_Step right up and see him folks_

_Couldn't you die at all his jokes_

_Couldn't you cry at all the tricks_

_He'll come up with in a fix?_

_But be certain not to stray_

_Cause He'll steal your heart away_

_(sang)_

_I am a clown, I am a clown, clown_

_You'll always see me smile_

_You'll never see me frown_

_Sometimes my scenes are good_

_Sometimes they're bad_

_Not funny ha-ha, funny sad_

_I am a clown, look at the clown, clown_

_Always a laughing face_

_Whenever you're around_

_Always the same routine_

_I never change_

_Not funny ho-ho, funny strange_

_Sometimes I think the world is a circus town_

_Sometimes I feel I belong in a side show_

_That man on the flying trapeze_

_He ain't never coming down_

_He knows what I know…_

_If you look inside_

_If I didn't hide, you might decide_

_You don't want me_

_I am a clown, that's why I'm a clown, clown_

_Just like the fool on the hill_

_Begging to come down_

_I want to live again_

_Oh, I want to feel_

_Tell me you love me, make me real_

_Tell me you love me, make me real_

_Tell me you love me, make me real_

_See the funny little clown_

_See the puppet on a string_

_Wind him up and he will sing_

_Give him candy…he will dance_

_But be certain not to feel _

_If his funny face is real_

As the last notes faded, Keith finally opened his eyes and saw the young woman sitting in the chair with a rapt look on her face. He immediately tensed. No one had ever heard him sing this particular song. It was very personal.

"That was really a fantastic song. Who wrote it? I've never heard it before." She said as she stood up and began slowly walking toward him.

"It's never been recorded." Keith said not really answering her question while watching her closely.

"Oh, then I assume you're the writer." She said as she smiled gently. She stopped in the curve of the piano and didn't advance any further. It looked like he was preparing to run and she wanted to talk with him for longer.

Keith nodded to confirm her assumption but said nothing.

"My name's Hope. I'm the assistant manager for the club." She waved her hand to encompass the room. "That's the best entertainment I've heard in this room for quite some time." She smiled hoping to get an answering tilt to his lips.

"Thanks." Keith acknowledged her praise, but now that his privacy was gone he felt the urge to move on. "Sorry about coming in here without permission, but the door was open and no one was around." Keith trailed off on his explanation as he slowly rose from the piano bench.

"Oh, that's completely all right." Hope assured him. "I got my own private concert out of it. Why haven't you recorded that song?"

Keith ran his hand down his face feeling very tired once again. Hope noticed his exhausted demeanor and wondered what was weighing down America's heartthrob. Oh, wait, she remembered seeing something on the news about a missing girlfriend. She wondered idly if she'd been found.

"It's not really a 'Partridge Family' tune." Keith admitted.

"Ever considered recording on your own?" Hope asked. "That song really was quite good. More than just me should get the chance to hear it."

"I'll keep that in mind." Keith said as he picked up his hat and sun glasses and started for the door.

"Wait, you don't have to go yet, do you?" Hope tried to waylay him for a little longer.

"Well, actually no one knows where I am, so I better get going before they send out the cavalry." Keith said as he started to walk away from her.

"Maybe you could stop by after your show tonight. We're having a luau. It should be a lot of fun." Hope finished a little lamely. Yeah, right, like he'd feel like partying after a performance.

"Thanks for the invite, but I'm not sure when we're leaving. Tonight's our last night in town." Keith told her as he reached the door.

"Right. Well, it was nice to meet you." Hope said as she watched him walk out the door. She was quite certain she had somehow blown the opportunity of a lifetime. Oh well, c'est la vie.

As soon as Keith was in the hallway, he heard someone call his name. He looked up to see Laurie heading straight for him from the elevators.

"Where have you been?" She said as she walked up. "Mom's worried."

"Sorry, I went for a walk." Keith told her as he watched her run her eyes over him as if checking for injury.

"In a nightclub?" Laurie raised her eyebrow at him. It was the same look his Mom gave him on occasion. She was getting quite good at it.

"That was after the walk. There's a piano in there. I appropriated it for a short time." Keith told her as he started walking toward the elevators.

Laurie just rolled her eyes and followed her brother. It was not unusual for him to find solace in music and she knew that right now he really needed whatever comfort he could find; wherever he could find it. As they entered the elevator, she glanced back toward the nightclub doors to see a very curvaceous and pretty blond step through and lock the door behind her. Keith noticed her too when she lifted her hand in a quick wave of acknowledgement. He automatically waved back before realizing that Laurie would read more into it than there had been.

"Playing the piano, hmmmm?" Laurie asked archly as the doors closed.

Keith immediately tensed up and shot a dirty look at her, "Yes, I was playing the piano. That girl was the assistant manager and she came in without me knowing it."

"Oh, and you didn't take the opportunity to flirt with her?" Laurie continued to tease.

"With everything going on with Anne, do you really think I'd be looking to pick up girls?" Keith asked hurt and angry. Just as Keith spat out the last word, the doors opened and he stormed out of the elevator without waiting to see if Laurie would follow.

"Sorry, Keith. I said that without thinking." Laurie said to his quickly retreating back. "Keith, wait. I really am sorry."

Keith stopped in his tracks and turned around to see a very apologetic Laurie doing her best to catch up. His anger left him as quickly as it had come and he told her, "I know Laurie. I'm just a little touchy. Forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive. I'm the one who was being insensitive." Laurie reminded him not as quick to forgive herself.

"That's a switch, isn't it?" Keith pulled up the side of his mouth in an attempt to smile. He really hadn't been successful in his attempts to smile for quite some time. This one didn't feel very real either. If he'd asked Laurie, she'd have told him she agreed. His sad attempt at a smile left her feeling pretty down herself.

"Come on, let's get back to the room before Mom calls in the National Guard." Laurie reminded him. They walked the rest of the way in companionable silence.

xoxo

Shirley had not been pleased by Keith's explanation of needing some time alone, but she hadn't been able to do much about it. He'd assured her that he'd gotten some much needed rest the night before, but by looking at him you wouldn't know it. He still looked like a strong wind would blow him over, though she knew that looks were deceiving. She knew he had a grit and a willpower that were tough to match. He would push himself well beyond the limits of human endurance and no one would know how close he was to breaking down. It ran in the family. His father had been the same way. In fact, so was her own father. If she looked at herself honestly, she'd have to admit that he likely got it from her as well. Hadn't she been knocked down several times by the tough blows that life had sent her way? Yet, here she was; still standing.

Once the family had breakfast, Shirley asked Keith if he wanted to accompany her to the police station to find out how they were going to deal with Juliet's likely delivery after tonight's show. After all, this was their last night in San Antonio.

He surprised her by begging off and saying he just wanted to either rest or maybe work on some songs. He really just wanted to avoid being looked at like he was some kind of insect under a microscope. Why Detectives found his lifestyle so fascinating puzzled him.

Shirley recruited Reuben to go with her to the station and they left leaving Laurie in charge of the kids. It was a look between Shirley and Laurie that communicated the importance of Laurie watching out for Keith as well. Thankfully Keith did not see the exchange.

Keith grabbed his guitar and headed out onto the balcony while Laurie entertained the kids with games in the living room. Tracy dropped out first to watch her favorite show, Sesame Street with Chris soon following. Danny quickly became immersed in his comic books so Laurie was at loose ends. She decided to join Keith on the balcony.

What she found when she opened the door surprised her. Keith had fallen asleep. She slid the door closed as silently as possible and sat down in the chair next to him to watch him. He looked peaceful to her. As the minutes ticked by, she noticed that his breathing had changed. She tensed herself, guessing that he was experiencing one of his nightmares that Mom had told her about. She prepared herself to spring into action.

As she watched the dream progress by the changes in Keith's breathing, she wondered how long a typical one lasted. Just as she thought that, Keith's eyes sprang open and he was staring at Laurie with terror in his eyes. With the sun behind her, Keith thought at first that she was Anne and that she had come back to him in one piece.

"Anne?" Keith asked as he reached for her.

As soon as Laurie moved, Keith was able to see that it was Laurie and that Anne was still lost to him. Laurie watched the disappointment spread across his face.

"Sorry, Keith, it's just me." Laurie said as she sat down on the edge of his lounge chair.

Keith just grunted in acknowledgement.

"Would it help to talk about it?" Laurie asked.

"I doubt it." Keith said depression settling in once again.

"You might be surprised. I'm a good listener." Laurie tried again.

Keith just sat in silence for a while. Would talking about it help? Or would nothing change? What could it hurt? Besides, Laurie was much closer to him in experiencing the fan phenomenon. She didn't have it to the level he did, but she'd been dated because of who she was not because the person truly liked her. Maybe she could help him understand Juliet's obsession.

"Why me?" Keith looked at Laurie with haunted eyes.

"You mean why did Juliet pick you?" Laurie picked up on Keith's change in direction without batting an eye. It made Keith more comfortable with his decision to talk to her about it.

At Keith's nod, Laurie continued, "Well, my guess is that she thinks she knows you. Do you think it's possible the two of you have met?"

"She as much as told me so in some of her oldest letters." Keith admitted.

"You really have no idea who she could be?" When Keith shook his head no, Laurie continued, "Maybe if you made a list of all your previous girlfriends."

"Seriously?" Keith looked at her like she was crazy.

"Oh, right. The list would be too long, there's probably not enough paper in the hotel." Laurie teased.

"Very funny. Are you taking lessons from Danny?" Keith joked back. It was the first joking comment he'd made in days even though Laurie was pretty sure he was unaware of it. "Besides, I don't think she's a previous girlfriend. She is really unbalanced. I'd have known if I dated someone that crazy."

"Probably." Laurie admitted. "So, how do we pinpoint a girl who was only on the periphery of your life?"

"We don't. I've thought of little else the last few days and can't come up with one likely suspect." Keith admitted.

"Maybe Mom will come back with some good news from the police." Laurie reminded him.

"You don't believe that any more than I do." Keith looked at Laurie and saw her eyes lower in agreement. "If Juliet was going to be easy to catch, they'd have caught her in Dallas."

"Well, sooner or later she's going to have to tip her hand." Laurie might agree that Juliet wouldn't be caught easily, but she did firmly believe that at some point she'd trip herself up. "I mean, since we started this tour, she's been in every city we've been in."

"I suppose that makes sense." Keith liked to think that Juliet was only a short time away from being a memory. A very bad memory, but a memory nonetheless.

"Hey, Mom and Reuben are back." Laurie said. She'd been looking into the room the whole time she'd been talking to Keith, partly to watch her brothers and sister and partly to watch for her Mom's return.

Keith and Laurie got up and entered the room just as Shirley was putting her purse down.

"So, Mom, what did the police have to say?" Keith forgot about the little kids being in the room and just asked what was most important to him.

"Danny, could you please take Chris and Tracy into the other room to finish watching their show?" Shirley asked her face showing no emotion.

"But, I want to…." Danny was cut off by his Mom's sharp look. "Ok, ok, we're going."

But nothing would stop Danny from listening at the door.

As most of the adults watched the younger Partridges exit the room, Keith watched his mother's face. Something was definitely wrong.

"Alright, they're gone. What's going on?" Keith wasted no time.

"Well, the purchase of the flowers was made already this morning." Shirley told him.

"So, it's over? They have Juliet?" Keith asked hopefully.

"No, honey, I'm sorry, they don't." Shirley walked toward him knowing that he wouldn't be happy with the next part.

"But you just said she made the purchase. If they know that, then they must have seen her." Keith said a little desperately.

"She paid a homeless woman to make the purchase. The poor woman was terrified when the officers arrested her on the spot." Shirley told him.

"Are they sure that this woman isn't in on it?" Laurie asked standing right behind Keith.

"They're sure. The woman's been in San Antonio for years. She said that she was approached by a young man to make the purchase. He paid her 100 dollars extra." Shirley could see Keith struggling with the information.

"Is Juliet a man?" Keith asked, now totally confused.

"No, they think that Juliet may be a master of disguises. They think it may have been a woman dressed up as a man." Shirley relayed more information, "They think she may have been a theatre major or something like that at some point in her life."

Keith frowned trying to place someone like that in his life. He was drawing a blank. Why couldn't he figure out who Juliet was? He was getting more clues every time she contacted him as well as what the police were finding out. Was he missing the obvious?

"Keith, does any of this make you remember someone? Anyone from your past that this sounds like?" Shirley asked hopefully.

"No!" Keith cried in desperation. "I've been running through everyone I can ever remember meeting and I'm drawing a complete blank. Why can't I place her?"

"Maybe you're trying too hard." Shirley said as she put her arm around her struggling son. "Keith, you have to remember that you have met more people in the last few years than some people will meet in their entire lives. Whoever, she is she must not have made that big of an impression on you. You can't blame yourself for not remembering her."

"Oh, really? Then who should I blame?" Keith asked as he slid out from his mother's arm and walked over to the patio doors.

Shirley thought it best to let her son absorb this new information and try talking to him again later about this; after he'd had time to realize that Juliet was the only one to blame. At least she hoped he'd come to that conclusion.

xoxo

That evening's show went much like the night before. Keith kept himself separated from his family and from the audience. While his family was well aware of his inability to interact with them, the audience had no idea that the performer on the stage was just a shadow of his normal self. They saw a smiling, entertaining performance. No one left disappointed.

After the encore was finished, the family trouped back to the dressing room. The only bright side of the night would be the fact that the floral arrangement would not be there to greet them.

They could not have been more wrong.

As soon as Laurie pushed open the door, she gasped and stopped abruptly in the doorway.

"What? What's wrong?" Shirley asked as she brushed past her two youngest who had been right behind Laurie to look over her daughter's shoulder. "This is impossible!"

"They're there, aren't they?" Keith asked having stopped more than 10 feet behind them.

"Yes, but how?" Shirley asked with shock in her eyes.

"I'm going to call the police and get them down here right away." Shirley said pushing her shock aside and walking over the pay phone hanging on the wall. She had the receiver in her hand before she realized that she had no change.

Just as she was about to go looking for her purse, Reuben happened to walk down the hallway. "Reuben, give me a dime, please."

"Sure, what's so important that you have to make a call right now?" Reuben asked as he fished around in his pocket for loose change.

"Juliet somehow or another still got flowers delivered." Shirley said.

No one realized that Keith had finally moved forward and was now walking into the room to see what everyone was so sure couldn't be. He hadn't been overly surprised to find out that the flowers were there. Juliet had outsmarted the Oregon and Dallas police forces already, why not the San Antonio police?

He walked up to the bouquet and grabbed the note. It was a larger than normal envelope and Keith idly wondered why that would be. As he slid his finger under the flap, Laurie, having noticed Keith missing from the hallway, had followed him into the room.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" She asked, concern evident in her voice.

"No, but I think I have to." Keith said as he looked at Laurie and then right back at the envelope. He pulled the letter out of the envelope and noticed that it had been thicker because it contained photos. Keith had pulled them out face down. He flipped them over and studied them for a full minute before he realized what he was looking at. He was looking at his nightmares come true.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Keith sat down quickly. He was feeling light-headed. It was almost like déjà vu. The car was in almost the exact same position as it had been in his dreams. It was on the roof and the nose of the car was crushed up almost tight to the dashboard of the car. No one could have survived the impact.

"Keith, what is it?" Laurie asked as she rushed over to him.

"No, Laurie, get mom in here." Keith said not wanting Laurie to see what he was looking at.

Laurie didn't respond but left the room to do what he asked. He'd turned very pale so something was definitely very wrong.

Keith flipped to the next picture and wished he hadn't. In this picture, a body was just barely visible. The body was unrecognizable, but the long dark hair was very evident. This was all the evidence Keith needed. He knew that it was Anne.

No one could tell him that he wasn't responsible for this.

He turned to the note and was just about to read it when Shirley came flying into the room, Reuben close on her heels.

"Laurie said to come quickly. What is it?" Shirley said as she moved quickly to his side.

Keith wordlessly handed over the pictures. He turned his attention to the note. While his Mom and Reuben studied the pictures in dread, Keith dropped into a nearby chair and began to read.

_My love,_

_It is apparent that the Oregon police need some additional training. How they can miss a broken guardrail when they are looking for a crash victim is beyond me. But, I just wanted to make sure that you knew that the proof of my love is a reality. I have done the unthinkable for you – twice now actually._

_On to more pleasant issues. Once again, your show was wonderful though you do appear a bit tired. Please try to get more sleep. I worry for your health if you keep pushing yourself so hard. I have found that being on the road constantly can be quite exhausting. I have picked up the arts of a masseuse and would be only to happy to help you relax once we are together._

_Everything is almost ready. The time is near for us to be together. Please know that you are my everything._

_Crazy for you,_

_Juliet_

Keith was so numb he couldn't even react to this latest insanity. He simply let his arm drop into his lap and stared at the far wall trying to wrap his head around what he had just seen and read. Did she just admit to killing not only Anne, but someone else? If so, why didn't he know about it? Who could it be? If it was someone close to him, surely he'd know.

"Keith, let me see the note." Shirley asked gently. She was a little surprised by his reaction or should she say his lack of reaction. It was as if he could no longer feel – anything.

Keith handed the note over wordlessly and never looked away from the spot on the wall. As Shirley read the note with Reuben doing likewise over her shoulder, she couldn't suppress a shudder. Reuben put his arm around her as she swayed slightly before letting the note fall down to her side with an arm that no longer had feeling. The pain her son could not feel was knifing through his mother as pains of sympathy.

She had no words of comfort. Her mind was a blank.

"Shirley? Come on, sit down. Over here. That's it, just a little further." Reuben talked to her softly the whole time he guided her to a chair just feet from her equally non-responsive son. He was pondering his next move when there was a knock on the door. He was grateful for the interruption.

He opened it to find the detective from earlier that day. "Detective Johnson, come in." Reuben said as he motioned the detective into the room.

The detective's eyes were immediately drawn to the flowers but just as quickly to the stunned mother and son sitting quietly in chairs next to each other. They both looked shell shocked. "What happened?"

"Well, as you can see, the flowers arrived just as they have in every other city. Just how do you explain that?" Reuben asked peevishly.

"Well, after we arrested the homeless woman, we removed the surveillance. She must have purchased another bouquet after the decoy." Johnson reluctantly admitted.

"You what?" Reuben said in anger. "How could you remove the surveillance when you knew you didn't have the right person?"

"At the time we didn't know that." Johnson said in his defense but realized how lame it sounded even to his own ears. He'd messed this one up, he had to admit, if only to himself.

"Here's the note that came with it. It also came with pictures." Reuben said as he shoved both in the direction of the detective. "The Oregon police shouldn't have any trouble locating Anne D'Angelo once they see those pictures. Juliet practically drew them a map."

"That's what was missing from the first arrest." Johnson said quietly to himself. Unfortunately for him, Reuben heard him.

"Care to explain?" Reuben was truly angry now.

"Umm…well, the homeless woman never gave the undercover policeman a note to send with the flowers. That leads me to believe that Juliet knew we had a sting operation in place. She was just waiting for us to shut it down." Johnson said as if a light bulb had gone off in his head.

"So, once again, she's a step ahead of you." This from Keith who had been listening to the conversation closely.

"It appears that way." Johnson said his embarrassment evident.

"So, not only is Juliet rich and a master of disguise, but she's also very smart. Why can't I place her?" Keith asked the room in general.

"Don't forget crazy." Reuben pointed out helpfully.

xoxo

Reuben was once again in a hotel room with Keith. They'd spent a couple of hours at the police station answering more questions, but no new information was gleaned from their interrogation.

Shirley had reluctantly parted from her son once again, but Keith had insisted that he would be more comfortable away from the younger kids. He told her he was so numb he was sure he could get some sleep. He'd been lying through his teeth, but she'd been so shocked herself by the latest developments that she hadn't noticed.

They were going to talk in the morning about what this latest discovery meant for the remainder of the tour. They would need to go home for the funeral but weren't sure if they could conceivably continue to tour or even if they wanted to. It was decided that they'd all sleep on it and talk in the morning.

Keith pretended to take another half a sleeping pill but had insisted that Reuben take one himself. He didn't want to be watched and Reuben needed his sleep just as much as Keith did. Keith had gotten into bed, rolled away from Reuben and stared at the wall until he was sure Reuben was asleep. He gave it another 15 minutes and then quietly got out of bed and redressed.

The numbness was wearing off and he needed to either regain that numbness or fill his mind with something other than the sick pictures he'd received that night. At first he'd just planned on taking a walk, but while he was getting dressed, he remembered Hope's invitation to stop in at the club in the hotel.

He'd have no trouble getting in because he was old enough. However, he did not want to show his drivers' license at the door or the whole club would know he was there. Could Hope get him in without a hassle and help keep his identity a secret?

He put on a hat, grabbed his sunglasses and went downstairs. He located the courtesy phone and dialed the club number. The bartender answered after several rings and eventually put Hope on the line.

"Don't say my name." Keith instructed before he said anything else.

"Ok, I won't but not because you said so. I have no idea who this is? Is this some kind of a prank?" Hope asked hoping this call did not turn into an obscene one.

"Sorry, it's Keith Partridge but I didn't want you saying my name out loud in the club. You invited me to stop in earlier today and I'd like to take you up on the offer. But, I don't want to be recognized. Can you help me with that?" Keith asked as quietly as he could while still allowing for Hope to hear him over the noise of the club. Thankfully the band was on a break so it was only a dull roar.

"Sure, where are you?" Hope asked excited to have to opportunity to talk to him again.

"In the lobby." Keith told her.

"I'll be right out to get you." Hope said as she hung up.

She swung past the Manager and asked if she could take the rest of the night off. She quickly added that she planned to remain in the club if any emergencies came up but that a close friend was in town. He'd be coming in shortly and she wanted to be able to spend time with him.

Hope was a very good employee and things were running smoothly, so the Manager didn't think twice about agreeing to her request.

Hope walked past the bouncer and wandered out into the lobby scanning the area for Keith. She eventually spotted him leaning against the wall around a corner. Keith noticed her at the same time and took a minute to check out the stunning picture in front of him. He suddenly remembered that she'd said they were having a luau that night. What he hadn't expected was to see Hope in a skirt tied at the waist, a bikini top and little else. Even her feet were bare. She was sexy as hell. If not for her blond hair, she'd have looked like a native.

As he was about to smile his appreciation, a wayward thought crossed his mind – Anne would have looked downright stunning in that get-up. Keith pinched the bridge of his nose and lectured himself, 'you're here to forget, not picture Anne as every woman you see'.

"You alright?" Hope asked as she walked up and noted Keith's frown.

"I'm fine, but I sure could use a drink." Keith smiled at her, feeling like his face would crack from the effort.

"Well, then, right this way." Hope said as she waved her hand the opposite direction that she had come from. At Keith's questioning glance she explained, "We're going to come in from the Manager's office. That way we can avoid the crowd at the bar and get right to the VIP area. You did say you wanted to remain anonymous, didn't you?"

"Absolutely. Lead on." Keith said as he motioned Hope to precede him.

Within minutes, they were ensconced in a booth that had a great view of the stage and the dance floor. The band had started up just moments before and the dance floor was filled with gyrating bodies dancing to the beat. When the waitress showed up, Hope ordered each of them a Mai Tai and glanced at Keith for his nod of approval. He didn't care what it was he drank just so he could regain the feeling of numbness that had deserted him about an hour ago.

While Hope kept shooting sideways glances at Keith, she didn't push for conversation. While the band was playing it would be hard to hear anyway. Besides, Keith seemed pretty absorbed in the show so she just sat and watched both him and the band.

She was a little offended that he hadn't checked her out like he first had in the hallway. His eyes had lit up when he'd first spotted her but then a shadow had come across his face and since then he'd been pretty quiet. Maybe some alcohol would loosen him up.

When the waitress returned, she looked at Keith much more closely. She was pretty sure she should know who he was, but with his hair tucked up under his hat, and his face in shadows, she wasn't able to place him. She shrugged and walked away.

At 1:00 am, the band took its final break of the evening. Keith and Hope had downed two Mai Tai's and were working on number three. Keith was starting to feel a little of the numbness that he so craved. When Hope turned to him to start up a conversation, he was willing to give it a try. After all, his mother had raised him to not be rude.

"So, Keith, what do you think of San Antonio?" Hope started out with a safe topic just trying to get him talking.

"I can't really say. I don't get to leave the hotel very much. We've been lucky so far, the fans haven't figured out which hotel we're staying at, but if they do, then everyone in the family becomes a prisoner." Keith told her.

"Wow, that must really stink." Hope was surprised to hear that he couldn't even go sightseeing.

"It's not so bad. I'm not really in the hotel for all that long. Mostly just to sleep and eat. Otherwise, we're traveling or practicing or performing." Keith shrugged pretty used to life on the road by now.

"No wonder you look so tired. It sounds grueling." Hope said as she looked at his tired face.

"Actually, under normal circumstances I find touring to be very exhilarating. Connecting with the fans is really pretty great." Keith said without enthusiasm making his words hard for Hope to believe.

"So, what's different this time?" Hope caught on quickly to the part he'd left unspoken.

"It's a long story and one I really don't want to talk about." Keith said shortly.

"Sorry, maybe we should change the subject." Hope said quickly. She had somehow brought up a touchy subject but wasn't sure how. All she was sure of was that she wanted to spend more time with him. She'd completely forgotten about his missing girlfriend.

"No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm just really tired." Keith apologized. She really was being very nice.

"That's alright." Hope trailed off and searched for a new subject, "So what do you think of the house band?"

"Honestly?" Keith asked and glanced at her quickly to read her face.

"Absolutely! I want your honest opinion." Hope smiled thinking they were pretty good. She'd hired them herself just a couple of weeks ago.

"Well, they could use some more practice. They're sloppy and I've heard several mistakes." Keith gave his honest opinion as a musician and could see by the hurt look on her face that he shouldn't have been quite to truthful. "But they have a lot of potential." Keith added quickly.

"No, I asked for your honest opinion. It just hurts a little when you don't hear what you expected, that's all." Hope put on a brave smile as she reminded herself that he had much more experience in music and would obviously hear things that she would miss. "So, should I fire them and look for someone else?"

Keith sighed and decided to remain brutally honest, "I would. If you want to keep the clientele happy that is."

"That bad?" Hope was surprised by his comments.

"Alright, you asked for it." At Hope's nod Keith continued, "The lead singer is often flat, the bass player is behind the drummer, the keyboard player is a passable musician at best so it's a good thing she's a knockout and the lead guitar player has dreams of being Clapton but sounds like he's using a toy guitar. Oh yeah, and their harmonies sound like a cat fight in a back alley."

"Ouch." Hope winced. "In other words, it's a good thing everybody is drinking."

"Ha." Keith's short laugh surprised him. He hadn't laughed in days. "That can only help, that's for sure."

"I'll start looking for a replacement in the morning." Hope said a little sadly.

"Hey, that's just my opinion. You don't have to fire them on my account. I'll be leaving tomorrow so my wounded ears will heal quickly." Keith assured her with a smile. His first genuine smile in days too. First she'd made him laugh and now he was smiling. He wasn't sure if it was her or the alcohol, but it was helping him to forget.

"You should do that more often." Hope said as she smiled back. It was infectious.

"What's that?" Keith asked as he continued to watch her look at his mouth.

"Smile. You really have a terrific smile. It lights up your whole face." Hope said as she finally looked back into his eyes. It allowed her to see the shadow pass quickly across them. The eyes were the windows to the soul and Keith's soul was definitely wounded.

Keith quickly changed the topic before she could ask him again why he wasn't in the smiling mood. "So tell me about yourself."

"What would you like to know?" Hope was only too happy to go with the flow rather than have that extremely sad look take over his face again.

"Anything. Everything." Keith smiled again though this time it was more forced.

"I'm going to be a senior at UT this fall. I'm majoring in business with a minor in hotel and motel management. I'm originally from Tulsa, but wanted to put some space between me and my parents. They're strict catholic and would both die of heart attacks if they could see me in this get-up." Hope waved her hand down her body drawing Keith's eyes back to the fine display of female flesh.

"My guess is that there are several male heart rates that have increased significantly when looking at you tonight." Keith teased.

"Hah, too bad the one heart rate that I'd like to have increased appears totally nonplussed." Hope looked at him archly.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that. You're having the same effect on me. I'm just better at hiding it than most." Keith automatically reverted to flirt mode when a female opened the door so invitingly.

"Is that so?" Hope looked at Keith through her lashes and threw her best smile in his direction. "How'd you like to see…..well, more?"

"What, here?" Keith was surprised by her pass at him, though he shouldn't have been. He'd had more women make passes at him in the last three years than he could begin to count. Hers was by no means the best, but her argument held great merit. An offer to see more of a body that had caused most of the guys in the place to pant uncontrollably in her wake was inviting to say the least.

"Not likely. I may not have a problem wearing next to nothing in public, but I draw the line at putting on a show. My apartment is only 10 minutes from here. Care to join me for some cocktails and….well whatever else we decide to do?" Hope winked at him.

"You do remember that I'm leaving tomorrow. That this can go nowhere." Keith felt compelled to point out that it would be a one night stand.

"Look, I'm not exactly Miss Free and Easy, but I've been away from my parents for a couple of years now and have been experimenting like most adults do. I also know that neither one of us is in love here. I don't think that we can deny that there's a definite sexual attraction. A strong one on my part at least. I'd like to see where it leads. If you're interested." Hope almost chickened out, but there were several people she knew who would give a kidney just for the opportunity to talk to Keith Partridge for as long as she had. Who knows what they'd be willing to do to get him in bed with them. She wasn't passing up her opportunity; as unexpected as it was.

Keith had wanted to find a way to forget the reality of his life for the night. This looked like a golden opportunity. She wasn't asking for an emotional commitment. That he would not have been able to give, but a physical one sounded like just what the doctor ordered.

As Hope watched several emotions travel across Keith's face, she was sure he was about to reject her. She was totally surprised when he reached over and put his hand behind her head pulling her in for a kiss. It started out soft and questioning but quickly deepened to a raw sexual exchange.

While Keith felt his body react to the responsive woman sitting next to him, he made up his mind quickly. He pulled back and said, "That's an offer I can't refuse."

Hope smiled at him and he smiled back. She slid out of the booth and pulled Keith behind her back toward the office door. They exited into the quiet hotel hallway and out through an employee entrance. She led him to her car and they drove away from the hotel. Keith sat quietly in the passenger seat as Hope drove as quickly as she could to her apartment. She was shivering with excitement by the time she pulled into her parking space.

Once inside, they wasted no time with words simply started kissing and pulling clothes off as they stumbled down the hallway to her bedroom. By the time they reached the bed, they were both naked and Keith entered her eager body immediately. He held out only long enough to know that Hope had achieved orgasm and then quickly followed himself.

Keith pushed himself up and looked down at Hope. Had he shouted Anne's name out loud or just in his head?

Hope smiled up at him and put her hand on his cheek. "Wow, that was fantastic! Can we do that again?"

"Ha, not right now." Keith said as he fell down beside her on the bed and felt his exhaustion begin to take over his body. He was tired in both mind and body for once. Could he sleep, dare he sleep? Before he could decide, his eyes closed and he drifted peacefully into slumber.

"Poor baby, you really are tired aren't you?" Hope said as she got up and found a blanket to throw over them. She wasn't about to try and move Keith to get him under the covers.

Once she'd thrown a blanket over him, she crawled under it herself and snuggled up beside him. She was tired too, but wanted to watch him sleep for a while. He'd be leaving in the morning, if she could keep him here that long even. She'd stay awake and make some more lasting memories for herself.

She grew chilly as the night wore on and got up to put on her fluffy bathrobe before settling back down beside Keith again.

He slept deeply for at least three hours. The alcohol and sexual release had finally quieted his mind enough to sleep dreamlessly for a few hours. Unfortunately for Keith, it didn't last. As his body finally allowed his subconscious free reign once again, Keith's nightmare started in his minds eye once again. It unfolded like every time before. As the inevitable end neared, Keith's body was already fighting to regain consciousness. He was restless and breathing quickly. Hope watched not quite sure what to do. She could tell he was in the throes of a nightmare, but had heard that waking people up from bad dreams could be bad. She moved slightly away just in case he started swinging and watched closely. She jumped back even further when he sat up and screamed, "Anne, no!"

"Keith?" She asked quietly.

She watched his eyes fly frantically around the room and finally settle on her. As realization set in, she watched him look quickly away. "Sorry about that." He mumbled as he made a grab for the slipping blanket. "What time is it?"

"It's around 6:00. Who's Anne?" She couldn't stop herself from asking.

Keith's eyes returned quickly to Hope and just as quickly fell away again. "Where's the bathroom?" Keith asked avoiding the question altogether.

Hope motioned to the door across the hall. Keith wrapped the blanket around himself and got off the bed. He bent down to pick up his jeans on the way by them and shut the bathroom door firmly behind him.

As he looked at himself in the mirror, he couldn't help but ask himself, 'what the hell have you done?'

You just had meaningless sex with a woman you barely know and didn't even use protection. What if she wasn't on the pill?

Partridge, you are an idiot!


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Hope listened to the shower being turned on and sighed. Her night of passion with one very sexy Keith Partridge was over. She got up, padded down the hallway and started a pot of coffee. Maybe she shouldn't have asked who Anne was.

As the coffee pot began to percolate, she suddenly remembered what had slipped her mind last night and where she'd heard that name before. She'd read a newspaper article that said Keith's girlfriend was missing. If she remembered correctly, her name was Anne. He'd been dreaming about his missing girlfriend while in her bed. Well, she'd known it was purely lust that had brought them together. Of course, he'd been dreaming of someone else.

So her ego was a little bruised. She'd survive. She'd have some great memories to share with her friends at some point in the future. Not for a while though, the thought of him thinking of someone else while they'd made love really did hurt.

Oh, who was she fooling, they hadn't made love, they'd had sex. She'd been trying to tell herself that she was a modern woman who could sleep with anyone she wanted without the trappings of love and marriage. So she'd normally only slept with her boyfriends after dating for a while and something more than attraction had existed. So why did it hurt so much to not be the one on Keith's mind while….there it was again. She didn't know what to call it.

While Hope beat herself up in the kitchenette, Keith flayed himself raw with guilt. He'd treated her like an object. Something to help him get over his own problems. He'd had no real feelings for her. It wasn't the way he'd been raised. He'd been raised to respect women. His Mom and Laurie would kill him if they knew what he'd done.

He couldn't even blame what he'd done on the alcohol. He remembered every single moment from last night and though he'd been feeling no pain, he knew his judgment hadn't been truly impaired. He'd made a very conscious decision to do what he'd done. What they'd done. He could have changed his mind at any time on the drive over. He'd had plenty of time.

He finished cleaning up but couldn't find a blow dryer for his hair. He walked out and glanced into the bedroom to find it empty. That was good, right?

He walked slowly down the hallway, picking up his shirt that he found on the floor. Man, they'd been in a hurry last night.

As he straightened up, Hope came around the corner. "Oh, hi." She said quickly.

"Hi. I'll just finish getting dressed." Keith said as he tried righting the shirt enough to slip it on.

"Don't rush on my account." Hope tried making light of the situation but knew she sounded pretty lame.

Keith threw her a smile that ended up looking more like a grimace as he finally pulled the shirt over his head. "Any idea where my shoes are?"

"I think they're in the bedroom. I'll go get 'em. There's some coffee if you want it." Hope said over her shoulder as she beat a hasty retreat.

"Thanks, coffee sounds good." Keith said as he padded quietly into the kitchen to find a clean cup waiting for him to use. He poured a cup and took a quick gulp burning his tongue in the process. 'shit' he said under his breath and set the cup down quickly to let it cool slightly.

He glanced at the clock and knew he had to get back to the hotel and quick. Reuben would be getting up shortly. Just as he thought that, Hope came around the corner fully dressed and carrying his boots and socks.

"Have a seat and put these on. I'll drive you back to the hotel." She offered as she refilled her almost empty cup of coffee. Anything to keep her busy so she wouldn't just stare at him. Talk about uncomfortable. It appeared that neither one of them was very good at this type of morning after situation.

"Umm…. Can I ask you something?" Keith finished with his shoes and stood back up.

"Sure." She said brightly, too brightly.

"Are you on… What I mean is, well, I forgot to use…." Keith stumbled to a close without actually saying what he meant. He just couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Oh! Oh my gosh, you're trying to ask if I could have gotten pregnant!" Hope blurted out.

"Not in those exact words, but yeah, that's what I'm trying to ask." Keith could not bring himself to look at her.

"It's ok. I'm on the pill. You don't have to worry that I'll trap you or anything." Hope babbled on.

"I wasn't thinking that." Keith assured her.

"Well, you should have been." Hope pointed out baldly. "Keith, you really are quite lucky that I was on the pill. Someone else may not be as, well, good about it. I'm sure there are lots of women who would love nothing more than to have your child."

"Is my Mom here?" Keith looked around quickly.

"What?" Hope asked a bit shocked by his comment.

"Well, you sound just like her. No offense. She's really pretty cool and very modern in her thinking. But, that being said, she'd kill me if she knew what I did last night." Keith admitted sheepishly.

"You mean what 'we' did last night. I was with you the whole way. In fact, I'm sort of the older woman here aren't I?" Hope smiled ruefully. "Thankfully your 18…..You are 18 right?"

"Yeah, I'm 18. So I was legal last night and still am this morning." Keith smiled sadly. "I'd say I'm an adult, but I'm not feeling much like one at the moment."

"Don't sweat it. We adults make mistakes too. Not that I think last night was a mistake. At least not on my part. I'm glad I got to know you even if just a little, Keith Partridge." Hope told him. "Now come on, I better get you back to the hotel. I'll just get my keys from the bedroom."

"Right." Keith said as he headed toward the door and then stopped to wait for her.

"Just one more thing." Hope said as she walked up next to him. "You might want these." She handed over his boxer shorts and watched his mouth fall open in surprise.

xoxo

This was getting to be a habit. Reuben had woken up a short time ago and once again the room was empty. No Keith, anywhere.

Reuben was just about to call Shirley to ask if he'd shown up there when he heard the key in the door.

"Where the hell have you been?" Reuben said as soon as Keith walked in.

"I went for a walk." Keith said and removed his hat without remembering that his hair was wet.

"With wet hair?" Reuben questioned.

"Yeah, I didn't want to use the blow dryer and wake you up." Keith quickly covered.

"Where did you walk?" Reuben got a whiff of Keith's clothes as he walked by. They smelled of smoke.

"Down by the river." Keith set his hat down on the bureau.

"So why do you smell like an ashtray?" Reuben knew he was being lied to.

"I sat down next to a smoker?" Keith answered lamely knowing that Reuben wouldn't believe him. He was caught and he knew it.

"Try again." Reuben glared at him.

"Alright, I went to a nightclub." Keith had no intention of telling him more.

"You what?" Reuben was shocked by his comment.

"I went to listen to the music. I couldn't sleep, so I went down to the club. I'm of legal age, you know. No big deal." Keith walked over to his suitcase to pull out clean clothes.

"Going to a club is no big deal, you're right. But where have you been the 6 hours since it closed." Reuben asked.

He really should have come up with a story before he'd gotten back. He'd been so sure that Reuben's sleeping pill would have him knocked out until 9:00 for sure. He was going to say that he'd woken up before Reuben because he'd only taken half a pill. Reuben being awake when he got back had thrown the whole thing off. Oh, why wasn't he a better liar?

"I met some…..people and we talked until the sun came up." He'd been about to say someone, but he knew he was safer to make it sound like there'd been a group.

"Where?" Reuben could tell Keith was making it up as he went.

"This girl's apartment." Keith decided to keep as much truth in his story as possible.

"How many?"

"I don't know, about 3 or 4, I guess." Keith refused to look at Reuben.

"Well, which was it 3 or 4?" Reuben knew that if he kept at him, Keith would eventually mess up. "What were their names?"

"Look, this isn't important. Can we just drop it?" Keith was completely frustrated by this whole thing.

"No, we can't drop it. Explain the wet hair." Reuben would not give up. He wanted the truth.

"Alright, you want the truth? The truth is I went back to a girl's apartment and we had sex. There are you happy?" Keith said as he brushed past Reuben and slammed the bathroom door behind him.

Reuben stood there with his mouth open for a full minute before he realized he'd finally gotten the truth from Keith. It was a truth he hadn't wanted to hear, but it was the truth. As far as he knew, Keith was a normal teenage boy with more than the normal level of opportunity. But up to now, Reuben had always thought that Keith had too much respect for women to have a one night stand.

As Reuben began to process the conversation, he finally realized that Keith was feeling an inordinate amount of guilt over what had taken place. It was inevitable that Keith would one day take what was so freely offered so many times. But why now?

Was it the guilt he was feeling for Anne's death? Was he looking to ruin his life as badly as he believed he'd ruined hers? Or, was he looking to connect with another human being while he felt dead inside?

Reuben was no trained psychologist and didn't even want to guess at Keith's true motives. But Reuben could not bring himself to talk about this to Shirley. He just had to make sure that Keith stopped this self-destructive path.

If they continued the tour, that would be a challenge. If they went home, Keith would likely fall back into his old routines.

This was the first time Reuben felt like casting his vote toward terminating the rest of their concert dates. Keith's ultimate healing was more important than the instant hit to the pocket book that canceling the next 10 dates would be. They could reschedule them, right?

When Keith finally exited the bathroom ready to face another day, Reuben stepped in his path to say one last thing. "Keith, no matter what happens, you know you can come to me, right?"

"What?" Keith looked at him in surprise.

"What I mean to say is, if you need to talk to someone but don't feel like you can talk to your Mom, you can talk to me, alright?" Reuben put his hand on Keith's shoulder. "I promise to keep everything confidential. It's one of the things I can do for you; as a Manager and as a friend. Does that make sense?"

"Sure Reuben." Keith said as he watched Reuben's uncomfortable look change to a smile.

"Great! Just great! So, anything else you feel the need to tell me?" Reuben asked totally uncomfortable once again.

"No, Reuben. There's nothing else to tell you." Keith wasn't sure if there was or not but he wasn't about to make something up just to make Reuben feel better.

xoxo

By the time Reuben and Keith went up to the family suite, Detective Johnson had called to let them know that Anne's car had been found. They were currently trying to get some rescue personnel down to the car, but they were pretty sure that Anne was in it and that she hadn't made it.

"Keith, I think we should cancel the rest of the tour." Shirley said to the top of her son's head. When they'd entered the room, it had just been Shirley and Laurie present, so Keith knew they had some news to tell him. He'd sat down and listened to his mom tell him everything they knew and then had just stared at the floor once again trying to wrap his head around his nightmare becoming a reality.

He was once again totally numb.

"You're still not sleeping well, I can tell. And, we'll want to attend the funeral so I think it's just better if we reschedule for later, don't' you?" Shirley tried again.

"Yeah, Mom, you're right." Keith said quietly without looking up.

"Reuben, you can take care of it right?" Shirley asked without taking her eyes from Keith. He was too calm about everything.

"I'll get started right away. I'll notify Johnny to come and pick you up; say in two hours?" Reuben looked to Shirley for confirmation. "You can be home in a couple of days. Less if you drive straight through."

"Thanks Reuben." Shirley walked him to the door and walked outside with him. "Reuben, has he been this quiet all morning?"

"Pretty much. Why?" Reuben asked more concerned than he'd been before as he picked up on Shirley's unease.

"He didn't even react to finding out that Anne is really dead. It's as if he won't accept it." Shirley chewed worriedly on her bottom lip.

"Shirley, I think it's more a matter of having what he already believed to be true finally confirmed. He's been accepting Anne's death for days. A lot longer than any of us." Reuben reminded her.

"Do you really think so?" Shirley asked surprised at Reuben's insight.

"I do. He's been grieving for a while now. We're the ones who've been denying what happened to Anne." Reuben looked directly into Shirley's eyes. "Shirley, he's not shutting you out. He's just waiting for you to catch up to him."

Reuben watched Shirley accept his words and then continued, "He still blames himself for what happened. He still thinks he could have done something to stop Juliet. You still have a long way to go to reach him. Catching Juliet would be a good start. Any new leads?"

"No, but maybe canceling the rest of the tour will throw her off a bit and give Keith a break." Shirley said hopefully.

"That would be nice. I'll fly back to San Pueblo and get the police started on setting up security for the family once you're back home. The last few letters from Juliet lead me to believe that she's not going to wait around much longer to come for Keith." Reuben pointed out.

"Thanks Reuben. That will relieve my mind quite a bit. I hadn't really thought that far ahead yet." Shirley admitted.

xoxo

They received a call before they left San Antonio that confirmed Anne's death. The funeral was in three days. They'd need to consider flying home in order to be home before the funeral. Either that or take turns driving and go non-stop. Keith voted for the driving non-stop as he had no desire to sit around the house for two days with nothing to do before the funeral. Shirley reluctantly agreed.

Keith insisted on taking his turn driving even though he still wasn't sleeping well. It was decided that he'd only take day time hours and that either Laurie or Danny would make sure he stayed awake. The last was without Keith's knowledge, but he caught on soon after they started acting like a tag team. He couldn't be mad though, so he just let them sit behind him and talk almost non-stop. At least they didn't expect him to respond.

They were 8 hours into their trip when the bus broke down in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They were less than a third of the way home. Danny found it ironic that the city bearing the name of one of their most famous songs was the city of their undoing.

They unloaded the luggage into two taxis and headed for the airport. Johnny would stay with the bus and drive back at a much slower rate once the parts were shipped in and the bus was repaired. Keith put on his hat and sun glasses and, with Laurie by his side equally disguised, kept their distance from the family until Shirley could handle the travel arrangements. As it was, she and the youngest kids were recognized several times. Everyone asked where Keith and Laurie were while they waited for their autographs to be signed. The kids had a blast with the attention while Shirley just hoped they could be taken to the first class lounge as quickly as possible.

When Shirley finally signaled Keith and Laurie to head toward the lounge, they waited until Shirley and the kids were gone for a good five minutes before following behind. The crowd had quickly dispersed once the others had disappeared behind the glass doors.

As they passed a gift shop on the way, a woman who had been watching the area closely absolutely certain that Keith and Laurie had to be somewhere near spotted the disguised brother and sister heading toward the doors. She poked her friend in the ribs and said, "Doesn't that look like Keith and Laurie right over there?"

Laurie heard them and quickly put her arm around Keith and said in a loud voice that dripped with a southern accent, "Darling, isn't this just the cutest thing? We absolutely must buy this for little Johnny. Don't you think?"

Keith playing his part, lowered his voice and put on his best southern accent too. "Whatever you want, Buttercup."

As they watched the two women walk away in disgust they quickly sprinted the last few feet to the door and shot through before they could realize their mistake. Their near escape had been thwarted by Laurie's quick thinking.

Laurie looked back at Keith as she tried to stifle her giggles and said, "Buttercup?"

"Well, it's all I could come up with on short notice." Keith said as he felt an answering smile spread across his face.

"What has the two of you giggling?" Shirley asked as she noticed her two eldest had finally joined them. She was happy to see Keith smiling happily with his sister.

"Why, whatever do you mean?" Laurie said in her fake southern accent and laughed some more as Keith shoved her lightly in the direction of the lounge still smiling himself.

xoxo

They got back into town the day before the funeral. Keith had called over to the D'Angelo's as soon as possible and had a chance to talk to Anne's aunt Francesca, but her parents had refused to take his call. Francesca had thanked him for calling and told him she looked forward to seeing him again. She just wished that it was under happier circumstances.

Before they rang off, Francesca had asked to speak to Shirley. Keith put his mom on and waited to hear what Anne's aunt needed to say to his mother.

Shirley didn't say too much in response to Francesca's comments, but he did notice a frown on her face. As soon as she hung up, he asked, "So, what was that about."

"Keith, Anne's parents have not had time to process everything that's happened. Francesca says that no matter how hard she's tried to explain it to them, they still blame you for what happened to Anne." Shirley said it as gently as possible, but he had to be warned. "Do you still want to go tomorrow? Francesca said she would understand if you decided to stay away."

"No, I'm still going. And Anne's parents are right. It is my fault." With those words, Keith got up and went to his room closing the door firmly behind him. He did not make another appearance that night.

xoxo

The morning of the funeral was bright and sunny. As gloomy as Keith's thoughts were he was certain it would have been raining or cloudy at least. He put on his dark blue suit and headed downstairs. He hadn't been able to eat all day. He'd been too nervous about how the D'Angelo's would take his presence at their daughter's wake.

Shirley had tried several times to get him to eat, just a little something at least, but he'd steadfastly refused. She put on a navy blue dress and watched Laurie come down the stairs in a dark blue dress herself. Well, if nothing else, they were all coordinated, was Shirley's completely ridiculous observation.

Mrs. Monohan was watching the three youngest Partridges so that Shirley wouldn't have to worry. As soon as Keith came back down from changing his tie, they could leave. They had planned to get there relatively early, but an unexpected tire problem on the car caused them to run quite late. As it was, they arrived only about 10 minutes before the service was to start. The church's parking lot was full and one could only expect that the church itself would be full as well.

Keith's heart beat faster as his nerves set in. He did not want to be here.

As they stepped into the door of the church, they noticed that most of the pews were already filled with family and friends. Many of the friends were kids from school and well known to both Keith and Laurie. As heads turned to watch them walk in, Laurie nodded to several of them acknowledging their smiles of support. Keith looked straight ahead. He stared straight at the beautiful white casket that was closed. A framed picture of Anne's smiling face taken for her senior pictures sat on the closed cover. The border of the picture said, 'In Memory of our beloved Antonella Demetria D'Angelo'.

Keith kept moving forward though he had no sense of movement. Shirley walked beside him watching him closely. He'd become so still once they'd walked into the church, but he'd gathered himself and started moving forward almost immediately. At this point, she was pretty sure he wasn't even aware of anything but the casket at the front of the church. He hadn't looked left or right, not once.

As they reached the front of the church, Shirley glanced over at the D'Angelo's who were staring angrily at Keith. Shirley looked back at Keith to see that tears had filled his eyes. As he reached out to touch the casket, his head fell forward. Just when she thought he would finally break down, he pulled himself up straight and turned to the D'Angelo's.

Before he had a chance to say anything, Mrs. D'Angelo stepped forward and brought her hand up quickly to slap him as hard as she could. His head snapped to the right and brought his eyes back to Anne's picture.

The entire group of mourners drew in a gasp at once.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"Adelinda!" Francesca gasped behind her sister.

Mr. D'Angelo grabbed his wife's arm in case she decided to take another swing at the young man who had yet to respond.

Everyone watched with bated breath to see what Keith would do. Shirley was just about to defend her son when Keith finally turned away from Anne's picture to face her family once again. An angry red hand print evident on his left cheek.

He spoke very quietly but with great conviction.

He addressed Francesca first, "I deserved that, so don't be upset."

His eyes then turned to Anne's parents, "I truly am sorry for what happened to Anne. If I could take her place, I would. Your daughter was much too good for me. I'm not asking you to forgive me, because I know that I'll never forgive myself."

With those last words, Keith turned and walked out of the church. Once again looking neither right nor left. Laurie glared at the D'Angelo's and followed quickly behind her brother. She'd heard every word he'd said and her heart was breaking.

Shirley too was dying inside for the despair that her son was feeling but knowing that the D'Angelo's could not be blamed for their feelings. She quietly said, "I am so very sorry for your loss." Then quickly followed her son and daughter out as well.

If she had looked behind her she'd have seen Mrs. D'Angelo dissolve in tears and her husband attempt to console her. Francesca whispered something to them and quickly followed the Partridges out of the church. She caught up to Shirley on the steps and hailed her, "Mrs. Partridge. Please accept my apologies for my sister's actions. She doesn't know what she's doing right now."

"Francesca, I can't blame her. She's grieving over a lost child. It's something I hope I never have to deal with, but right now my son is blaming himself for something he had no control over. What she did will just make him more sure that this is all his fault. I don't know how to help him." Shirley could not stop the tears from flowing.

They found Keith on his knees beside the family car, dry heaving. Laurie was supporting him as best she could, tears streaming down her face.

"Keith!" Shirley said as soon as she saw him on the ground.

He simply moaned and closed his eyes tighter. His cheeks were wet with the tears he had refused to allow himself to shed up until now. He'd held everything inside until Mrs. D'Angelo had confirmed his worst fears. She blamed him too.

"Just leave me alone." He said weakly after another attack of the dry heaves left him feeling so very tired.

"Mrs. Partridge, Laurie, would you give me a few minutes alone with Keith?" Francesca asked quietly.

After studying the look of sympathy on Francesca's face and realizing that she was not going to attack her son like Mrs. D'Angelo just had, Shirley nodded slowly and put her hand out to her daughter. She was at a loss on how to help her son, she only hoped that Francesca could get through to him. Laurie reluctantly moved away from Keith and took her mother's hand. They walked back to the steps of the church and watched from a distance as Francesca, in her dress and heels, sat down on the ground next to Keith who had weakly fallen against the car after Laurie's support had been removed.

"Keith, I know you probably don't want to talk to anyone right now, but there's something I need to share with you. Something you need to hear." Francesca said and waited for Keith to acknowledge her.

"What, are you going to slap me too? Because I wouldn't blame you if you did." Keith said in a voice hoarse from its recent rough treatment.

"No, Keith, I have no desire to hit you. Hug you, maybe, but not hit." Francesca let her tears fall as she remembered Anne, who had been more like a sister to her than a niece. At Keith's confused look she continued, "Anne talked to me while she was staying with me just before, well, just before she died. You see we're very close, probably because we're closer in age than I am with my own sister. She felt like she could talk to me. And though we didn't get to see each other often, she would call me all the time and we'd talk. She was a very special person, my niece."

She had paused in hope that Keith would respond to her comments. She needed to be sure he was truly listening to her. "Yes, she was special." Francesca smiled through her tears when she heard his shared opinion.

"She used to tell me that she was afraid of ending up like her mother. She wanted more out of life than being a mother and a housekeeper. Oh, don't get me wrong, Anne loved her mother dearly, but she watched my life and wanted a life that allowed her to make her own decisions. You see, Anne romanticized my lifestyle. I'm a single career woman with a partnership in a major law office. She thought that I had it all – career, independence and happiness. What she didn't see was that I was, am lonely. I put so many hours in at the office that I have no time for a personal life." Francesca smiled sadly. She quickly pulled herself back to the subject of Anne, "Do you know that Anne had every intention of running for political office some day? She wanted to do right by the world."

"And, now, because of me, she'll never get to do any of those things." Keith reminded her.

"Well, actually, on her last visit, her idea of what she wanted for her future had changed drastically. She was no longer certain that she didn't want a husband and a family anymore. You see, she'd fallen in love with someone." Francesca smiled at Keith.

"She was in love with me?" Keith asked surprised. They'd been together for such a short time and had always known it wouldn't last very long.

"Very much. She told me that she was considering giving up her scholarship to Harvard and enrolling at a school closer to home. She wanted to be near you." Francesca revealed.

"Are you trying to make me feel worse? Because I'm not sure that's possible." Keith sighed and closed his eyes.

"Wow, for someone who sways juries and talks for a living, I'm really screwing this one up." Francesca laughed ruefully. "I'm trying to tell you that what you gave Anne was priceless. You gave her so much happiness in the last weeks of her life, more than she had ever believed possible. She had resigned herself to a life of being alone, much like mine. She was going to live her life for others, but not for herself. She had just recently figured out that a life without love is missing a very important ingredient. You gave her that gift."

"Then how can you not blame me for her death?" Keith asked.

"Keith, I worked as an assistant district attorney when I first passed the bar. I've seen all kinds of criminals and crazy people. I did my best to put as many of them behind bars as I could. Unfortunately I wasn't always successful. When I wasn't, they would inevitably break the law again and usually hurt someone innocent in the process. The first thing I had to learn was that no matter what I did, I couldn't change what they had done or were going to do. No more than you could stop what happened to Anne." Francesca watched Keith's face but saw the doubt still there.

"Keith, answer me one thing, did you know that Anne was in danger?" Francesca asked him.

"No. I would have done anything to keep her safe." Keith defended himself.

"Well then, tell me how you could have stopped what happened? If you had no idea it was going to happen, how could you have stopped it?" Francesca pointed out.

"I just should have known. I knew Juliet was different from all of my other fans. Even the most persistent and most ardent fans weren't as….well, crazy as Juliet." Keith told her.

"Keith, you can't expect to understand Juliet. She's not normal. She's mentally unbalanced. She will never do what you expect her to do. Mostly because you just cannot process information in the same way that she does." Francesca explained. "I've talked to several criminal psychologists throughout my career and many times _they_ can't even predict what someone who is as mentally unbalanced as Juliet will do. They're getting better at it, but they're still a long ways toward understanding the psychotic mind."

"How can you not blame me?" Keith asked still surprised that someone who had loved Anne as much as Francesca had could forgive him for his part in this whole nightmare.

"Because you didn't do it. Juliet did and I know that had you known you would have done everything in your power to stop it." Francesca said with conviction.

"Alright, you can forgive me for my part in this whole thing, but tell me, how do I begin to forgive myself?" Keith asked desperation in his eyes.

"If I knew the answer to that, I'd be a very rich woman. Guilt is something we all deal with in different ways. All I know is that Anne loved you too much to have ever blamed you for this and the best thing you can do to honor her memory is to forgive yourself." Francesca said as she watched fresh tears track down the face of a struggling Keith.

Francesca felt like she could do no more. The rest would be up to Keith. She stood up, brushed off the back of her skirt and put her hand out to Keith. "Come on. I think you and your mom and sister should head home. I need to get back inside. My sister needs me right now."

Keith took her hand and stood up. He wiped his tears away and said, "When she's ready to listen, will you tell Mrs. D'Angelo how truly sorry I am?"

"Yes, Keith, I'll do that. Take care of yourself and your family. You have a long struggle ahead so long as this Juliet is on the loose. For your sake, I hope they catch her soon. Well, that's not exactly true – for my sake, I hope they catch her soon so that she can pay for what she did to my niece." Francesca finally let some of her venom toward the unknown Juliet surface.

Keith was truly grateful that her hatred was not directed toward him. She had helped him more than he deserved. Helped him to understand that, though Juliet had killed Anne because of him, he couldn't have known or stopped it. And, maybe, just maybe, if he said it enough times, he might start believing it.

xoxo

Keith hadn't said what he and Francesca had talked about, but as soon as they got home, he announced that he was going to take a nap. Shirley and Laurie had watched him walk away in shock. He hadn't willingly slept in days.

After an hour had gone by, Shirley had sent Laurie up to check on him. She'd found him sound asleep. She stayed to watch for a while to make sure he wasn't dreaming and could find nothing unusual about his breathing or sleep patterns. He was simply in a deep sleep. Probably the first deep sleep in a week.

She went down to report to her mom who had begun making dinner. "How is he?" was asked as soon as she walked through the kitchen door.

"Sleeping soundly." Laurie reported.

"Really?" Shirley asked.

"Really. I even watched for a while to make sure he wasn't just faking it or if he would have a nightmare. Nothing. He's just sleeping." Laurie said still surprised.

"Oh thank God!" Shirley thought. Maybe they'd turned a corner. As she turned back to the roast she was preparing to stick in the oven, the front door bell rang. "Would you get that before it wakes Keith?"

"Sure, Mom." Laurie said and headed out to do as her mother requested.

She opened the door to find a man in a suit. "Can I help you?" She asked.

"I'm Detective Sherman. Can I speak to your mother?" The man showed Laurie his identification and then stepped into the house once Laurie motioned him in. He was different than the one who had showed up last night to pick up all the letters that Danny had saved. They still hadn't told Keith that he'd kept them. Laurie wasn't sure she wanted to be around when Keith found out.

"I'll go get her. Have a seat." Laurie waved him toward the living room and went to get her mom.

"Mom, it's a detective. He wants to talk to you." Laurie told her mom just as she closed the door of the oven.

"Oh." She said as she smoothed down her sweater and her hair. Why was she having this nervous reaction to a police detective? It wasn't like they hadn't talked to their fair share over the last week or so. Maybe they'd caught Juliet. Maybe this was all over.

"Mom, he's waiting." Laurie reminded her as Shirley had paused to run through all of the possibilities.

Shirley smiled and nodded, "Right." Then pushed through the door to greet the man. "I'm Shirley Partridge."

"Hello, Mrs. Partridge. I recognize you from your album covers." The detective said a little embarrassed once he realized what he'd said.

"What can I do for you?" Shirley asked as she motioned him to sit back down once she'd taken a seat on the other end of the couch. Laurie had followed her back into the room and perched on the couch arm behind her mother.

"Well, actually, it's more what we can do for you. Mr. Kincaid had been working with the Chief of Police and the Mayor to make sure that you and your family are safe now that you're back home. I've been assigned to find out what type of surveillance you'd be most comfortable with." Detective Sherman explained.

"Surveillance? Just what do you mean?" Shirley asked.

"Well, we'd like to put someone in the home as well as some people around the house, but we wanted to make sure that you weren't uncomfortable with that." At Shirley's confused look he continued, "It's inevitable that this Juliet will find her way to San Pueblo in the near future and we need to make sure that you're all safe."

"Oh, I hadn't really thought about what that would mean. Yes, yes we need to decide." Shirley felt foolish for not having thought of this before now. She'd just been so concerned about Keith and the funeral that she had let it slip her mind. Well, that wasn't exactly true. She worried constantly about her family's safety from this crazy fan, but she hadn't really thought about what that would mean for all of them. Were her other children truly in danger? Was it possible that she could be standing at one of her own children's funerals just like the D'Angelo's had been earlier today?

Oh, where was Reuben? She needed his advice now more than ever. "I'd like to discuss this with our Manager before I make any decisions. Is that alright?"

"Sure, Mrs. Partridge. For now, I'll just go and sit out in my car in front of the house. You come and get me when you want to talk about this." The detective offered as he got up and walked to the door; Shirley trailing quickly behind.

Within 15 minutes, the back door banged open to admit the three youngest Partridges. "Hey, Mom, who's that in front of the house?" Danny asked while Chris and Tracy waited for her answer too.

"It's a police detective. He's waiting for Reuben to show up." Shirley explained not wanting to say any more as Chris and Tracy had been mostly shielded from everything up to now.

"Oh, well, it won't be long before dinner so he should be showing up shortly." Danny smirked at his own joke.

"Danny." Shirley smiled at her middle son who practically lived to tease Mr. Kincaid. "Go get cleaned up – all of you."

"But be quiet, your brother is sleeping." Shirley remembered to remind them as they noisily began to leave the kitchen. They quieted down considerably as they left which made Shirley smile.

"Should I go and wake Keith for dinner?" Danny asked as he came back in the kitchen after washing up.

"No, let him sleep. He hasn't had much lately. Laurie, would you go and check on him again?" Shirley asked her daughter who had been tossing the salad that would be part of their dinner.

"Sure Mom, but don't you think he should eat? He hasn't been eating much lately either." Laurie reminded her.

"I know, but sleep is probably more important right now. If he's hungry enough, he'll wake up." Shirley surmised.

"He's still out cold." Laurie reported when she came back a few minutes later.

"Good. Danny, help your sister set the table, will you?" Shirley asked.

"Me? I wouldn't know where to put the fork and spoon." Danny would say anything to get out of a chore.

"Here, I think you can figure out where the plate goes." Laurie said as she set a stack of plates in his hand and pushed him in the direction of the dining room. "Should we set a place for Reuben?"

"Yes, do. I'm sure he'll be here soon." Shirley said as she began the final preparations for their dinner.

As if on cue, the back door opened to admit Reuben. "Is that someone from the police department in front of the house?"

"Yes, it's a detective. He wanted to know if we wanted someone in the house. Really, Reuben, is that necessary?" Shirley asked concerned about what she'd have to tell Chris and Tracy.

"Possibly." Reuben hedged.

"But, in the house with us? Reuben, that's such an intrusion on our lives." Shirley pointed out.

"I've been talking to the police for several hours. Maybe they have another option to having someone inside. But right now, they have no idea where Juliet is and can only assume that she's making her way to San Pueblo as we speak. It just hit the news today that you've cancelled the rest of your tour, so by now she knows you're home."

"Right, I forgot about that." Shirley said as she continued to work. It was a good thing she could make dinner in her sleep because her mind was definitely not on her task. "Reuben, are my kids safe?"

Reuben frowned and stalled before he answered, "Shirley, I'm really not sure. I think so, but I don't want to take any chances."

"I guess I better try to explain things to Chris and Tracy over dinner." Shirley sighed not really looking forward to that task.

"Yeah, that's a good idea. They'll also have to stick close to home for a while." Reuben agreed.

Reuben helped carry a few dishes into the dining room and the family, less a sleeping Keith, settled down to dinner. Shirley ate sparingly as she struggled for the best way to explain what was happening to her two youngest. Reuben helped where he could and before dessert, they had been told the bare minimum to help keep them safe without scaring them. They tried making it a little bit like a game for them and hoped that it worked.

After dinner, Reuben and Shirley talked to Detective Sherman who was wolfing down a sandwich that Shirley had offered once she realized he hadn't had a chance to eat.

"Alright, then it's settled. We'll have a marked car parked outside at all times and at least two officers on sight at any given time. We'll also have someone behind your house as you decided against having someone inside. We're a relatively small department, but we'll get help from the state police if need be. Now, are you sure you don't want someone in the house?" Detective Sherman asked as he finished his coffee.

"No, I have to keep life as normal as possible for my children. We'll just all be extra careful." Shirley said as she offered a refill on the coffee.

"No, thank you." Detective Sherman said as he stood up. "I can't thank you enough for the sandwich and coffee, but I need to get back to the station and set up the surveillance schedule. I'll wait until the squad car gets here then I'll stop back in the morning to let you know how this will work. Good night."

The detective walked out and Shirley closed the door firmly behind him locking it.

Reuben had settled in on the couch when Shirley walked upstairs to go to bed. She checked on Keith for the final time just to make sure he was still sleeping peacefully and then settled in for what would likely be a sleepless night for her.

xoxo

Upon waking from a restless night, Shirley had checked on Keith to find him still sleeping. She'd watched him for quite some time happy that he was finally sleeping, but thinking that 16 hours was long enough. However, she hated to think of waking him.

Eventually she left his room to head downstairs to make breakfast. Maybe when she was done she'd take Keith breakfast in bed.

Upstairs, Laurie had the same thought as her Mother, so before heading downstairs, she'd stopped in Keith's room. While she watched him, Keith rolled over and slowly opened his eyes to find Laurie staring at him. He jumped slightly but then absently smiled at her.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." Laurie greeted him with a wide smile.

"Morning." Keith mumbled his voice still muffled with sleep.

"You slept for something life 16 hours. How do you feel?" When Keith only grunted, she continued, "Well up and at 'em. Breakfast should be ready shortly and I'm sure you're hungry."

At the answering growl from Keith's stomach, Laurie laughed happily and turned to leave. "See you in a bit."

She went downstairs and reported to her mom that Keith was awake and should be down shortly. Mother and daughter shared a happy smile.

Keith was the last Partridge downstairs and even Reuben had gotten ready for the day before Keith. He felt sluggish after having slept for so long.

"Hungry honey?" Shirley asked as he walked into the kitchen and sat down in a chair.

"Yeah." Keith said as he grabbed the newspaper and opened it up. He lost his appetite immediately. The cover story was about Anne and how she'd been killed by a deranged fan of one Keith Partridge.

Danny had gotten the paper but not bothered to look at the front page. He'd simply grabbed the business section and put the rest on the table. When Shirley walked up behind Keith to set a plate in front of him, she caught the headline herself.

"Oh, no!" She said as she read the first few lines.

"What is it?" Reuben and Laurie said at the same time.

"It appears that the press has gotten a hold of the story." Shirley said absently as she continued to read. She noticed the paper start to shake a little as Keith became either more angry or upset as he read.

When Keith finished the story he stood up and started out of the kitchen. "Where are you going?" Shirley asked.

"I don't know. Nowhere, anywhere. I just can't be here right now." Keith said not exactly knowing what he had planned.

"What does that mean?" Shirley asked concerned.

"Look, I need to get away from all of this." Keith said as he swept his hand toward the paper. "I need some time alone."

"Well, that's not going to happen." Reuben informed him.

"What does that mean?" Keith asked.

"Well, the whole family is under surveillance by the police. You can't go anywhere alone." Reuben told him what he'd missed while asleep.

"Seriously?" Keith looked at his mother for confirmation. When she nodded, he sank back in his chair.

"Try eating something." Shirley told her stunned son.

"I'm not hungry." Keith told her.

"That's not what you said a few minutes ago." Danny reminded him. "But, if you're not going to eat your pancakes, can I have 'em?"

Keith wordlessly handed him the plate as the phone rang. Shirley answered it as she set a plate in front of Reuben.

"Oh, hi Johnny….the bus still isn't done?...tomorrow?...will you get home in time for your next job?...alright, I'll talk to you later." Shirley said and then informed her family that Johnny was still stuck in Albuquerque, but should be able to start out within a day or so as the parts would finally be getting there tomorrow. One of the hazards of driving such an old relic. Johnny was a little concerned that he might not make it back in time to start his new job. It would be close.

"That's it!" Keith said when Shirley finished.

"That's what?" Shirley asked him surprised.

"I'll fly back to Albuquerque and help Johnny drive the bus back! We can get back a lot faster if there's more than one driver." Keith announced.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"No! I forbid it." Shirley said vehemently.

"You what?" Keith asked in shock.

"I forbid you to go." Shirley said again.

"Well, too bad. I'm 18 and I'm going." Keith said as he marched out of the room in anger.

"Shirley, wait." Reuben said as Shirley began to follow him.

"Reuben, he's not going and that's final." Shirley said as he looked at him in exasperation.

"Think about it. It might actually be safer for him to be gone. Juliet has, by now, started to head back to San Pueblo. It would actually be safer for Keith to not be here, right?" Reuben hoped Shirley saw the same thing he did. Getting Keith away from where he was supposed to be was actually a good thing. He'd run it by the police, but the plan certainly had some merit.

"Reuben, I'm not going to let him travel to Albuquerque all by himself. Not while he's in danger." Shirley refused to let her son out of her sight especially by himself.

"Well, he could travel using a charter plane. No one would even know he wasn't here." Reuben planned as he went along.

"Besides, I could go with him." Laurie offered.

"Me too!" Danny said. He was always up for an adventure.

"No, no and no! Is no one listening to me?" Shirley wanted to scream.

Reuben stood up and grabbed Shirley by the shoulders, "Shirley will you agree if the police think it's a good idea?"

Tears sprang to her eyes as she struggled with the decision that could ultimately save her son or put him in more danger. "Oh, Reuben, I need to keep him near me. I can't protect him if he's in another state."

Reuben pulled her into a hug and whispered to her. "I hate to tell you this Shirley, but you may not be able to protect him anyway. Leave that to the professionals, hmmm?"

xoxo

Ultimately it was decided that Keith would go with Laurie and Detective Sherman would go along as well. Keith hadn't been happy about the detective coming along, but had been glad that Laurie would be coming. He liked the idea of having an ally along and he'd always been able to talk Laurie into most anything after a while. Not that he would need to talk her into anything – at least he didn't think so.

Reuben chartered a flight for them that would leave from San Pueblo's small airport and arrive in Albuquerque without anyone knowing who the passengers on the flight were. According to the press, Keith and Laurie Partridge were in San Pueblo.

As Reuben drove them to the airport the next morning, he told them about their pilots, "You'll be flying with Ron and Nick Landry. I think it's a father and son duo that have a small passenger jet. They normally fly executives and celebrities from San Francisco around the world. Very experienced and very discreet. No one will find out from them that the two of you are their passengers. Alright?"

"Sounds good. I've never flown on a small plane before. Should be fun." Laurie said as she looked at Keith with a smile.

Keith gave her a tight smile back. He didn't care about the travel plans. He just wanted to be out of San Pueblo and the fish bowl that the media would have put him in if he'd stayed. He'd have been a prisoner in the house or he'd have been followed by several photographers and reporters everywhere he went. Since the story hit the papers, a crowd of reporters had already tried taking over the front lawn. The police had pushed them back, and Keith and Laurie had snuck into Reuben's car and hid on the floor just to get away to the airport without everyone knowing they were leaving. Once away from San Pueblo, things should quiet down. He planned on hiding behind hats and sunglasses whenever he was out in public until this whole thing blew over. Hopefully Juliet would be caught before they got home.

They pulled into the airport and Reuben drove his car right up to a hangar marked 'charter flights'. "Alright, wait here while I find your pilots. Keep your disguises on until you get on the plane." Reuben instructed as he walked away.

Keith and Laurie got out and waited by the car as instructed. A larger than expected jet sat on the tarmac a short distance away.

A very pretty blond with her hair in a ponytail came around the tail of the plane running her hand along the fuselage as she went. She looked to be around 20 or so, Laurie guessed. She checked under and around all of the jets moving parts. She spotted them and waved but continued on her inspection. Laurie waved back.

Reuben came out of the hangar with a man in his mid to late 40's who walked over and smiled charmingly. "Well, hello. I'm Ron Landry. The young lady checking out the plane is my daughter, Nic. We'll be seeing you safely to Albuquerque."

"Hi." Keith and Laurie greeted him.

"We'll be ready in five minutes or so. As soon as Nic is done with the final pre-flight check. So, if you're ready, you can climb on board." Ron offered.

"Reuben, help me with the luggage?" Keith asked as he headed to the trunk of the car. He caught the keys Reuben tossed him and opened the trunk to extract two suitcases and his ever present guitar case. He wasn't quite sure why he'd brought it; probably habit more than anything. They'd be too busy driving back to have time to play.

"I've got it." Ron said as he picked up the two suitcases Keith had set down. "Follow me."

"Be right there." Keith said as they wanted to say good-bye to Reuben before leaving. "Take care of Mom for us, ok?"

"And Chris and Tracy." Laurie added.

"Missing anyone?" Reuben caught onto their joke right away. It was a long standing one.

"I don't think so. Anyone you can think of Keith?" Laurie teased wishing that Danny was present to get offended. It really was more fun.

"Nope, that about does it." Keith played along but didn't enjoy it as much as Laurie and Reuben were.

"Alright, all kidding aside; I'll take care of the rest of them if you two take care of each other, deal?" Reuben said as they finally noticed Detective Sherman arriving.

"Deal." Laurie said as she followed Keith to the jet.

When they got to the steps, Ron met them again. "Hey, Nic come meet out passengers."

Nicole Landry walked up and removed her aviator glasses long enough to try to get a good look at their passengers. If she wasn't mistaken, she was in the presence of Keith and Laurie Partridge but she wasn't exactly certain until she heard him speak.

"Hi, nice to meet you." Keith said as he stuck his hand out to shake hers. The voice was a dead give away.

"The name is actually Nicole." Under normal circumstances she didn't mind the more masculine shortening of her name, but when a very good looking man was standing in front of her, one that she definitely wanted to notice her as female, she made a point to give her full name. "It's a pleasure to meet you and your sister." Nic said as she smiled at Laurie and offered her hand.

"What, how did you know we're brother and sister?" Laurie asked as she shook her hand.

"The guitar and the fact that we're in San Pueblo were two strong hints, but I'd recognize that voice anywhere." Nic said as she nodded her head toward Keith.

"Should have used my southern accent." Keith said sheepishly causing Laurie to smile in memory of their last attempt to throw people off their trail.

"I'm not sure what that means, but you can try it out on me any time." Nic smiled flirtatiously.

Keith smiled in return, but Laurie could tell that his heart wasn't in it. If he'd truly wanted to flirt, Nic wouldn't have stood a chance. He was simply being polite. And, before Nic could realize it, Laurie decided to step in.

"So, Nic, how long have you been a pilot?" Laurie said to pull Nic's attention away from Keith who was already squirming slightly under her aggressive stare.

"Since I was 10. I soloed when I was 14 and been working as my dad's co-pilot for the last two years while I finish college. Once I'm done I'm hoping to join the navy and fly fighter jets." Nicole answered, her enthusiasm for her planned future obvious in her words.

"Wow, that sounds exciting." Laurie said in awe. She'd never have considered such a path even though she was a big proponent of women's lib.

"Amazing. Someone more women's lib minded than my sister." Keith said as a joke but regretted it when it brought Nic's attention back to him.

"Oh? You don't believe in women's lib?" Nic asked.

"I'm not against it in the least." Keith said. "The group is run as a democracy and Laurie gets her fair say."

"That from the creative genius behind all the song writing and arranging." Laurie mocked.

"I'm willing to share any day you want to write your first song." Keith defended himself and wondered how he'd ended up in this situation.

"So, if your sister decided to start writing music, you wouldn't have a problem giving her credit?" Nic probed.

"Oh, don't take her too seriously." Ron came up behind Keith with Detective Sherman in tow and offered his moral support. "She's very opinionated and that's probably my fault. I've raised her on my own since her mother died when she was only 4. Put your claws back, Nic."

"Sorry, I get a little defensive when I think someone's telling me I can't do something I have every intention of doing better than anyone else." Nic said embarrassed that she'd basically attacked the man she was trying to impress. Great job Nic. He's likely to ask you on a date at the very next opportunity.

To cover the awkward silence, Ron waved them all toward the stairs. "Well, now that all of our passengers have arrived, let's get this bird in the air. Nic, get the instrument pre-flight check started, will you? I'll remove the blocks and get our passengers settled."

"On my way, Dad." Nic said as she quickly got on the jet and moved forward to settle into the co-pilot's seat.

The rest followed more slowly and found that the jet was quite spacious. Once they were airborne, Ron told them they could move around the cabin at will. "Take a seat wherever you choose and we'll be in the air in five minutes or so." Ron said just before taking a seat next to his daughter.

Father and daughter worked in perfect harmony and they were soon asking for clearance from the tower.

Once in the air, her father suggested that Nic check on their passengers. She reluctantly left the comfortable confines of the cockpit and headed back to check on Keith, Laurie and the Detective.

The detective was sitting closest to the front and was already engrossed in a file he had brought along to read. He said he was fine and she headed back to Keith and Laurie who were talking quietly a couple of rows behind.

"Did the two of you need anything?" Nic asked blushing lightly when Keith looked up.

"You don't have to wait on us. We're good." Laurie said.

"Well, there's a refrigerator behind the wet bar and there are cokes and whatever else you might want, so just help yourself." Nic said and continued with, "It's all part of the ride."

When Keith just nodded, she turned around and headed back to the cockpit. She really had blown it, hadn't she? She'd thought at first that he'd found her attractive but now he probably just thought her pushy and aggressive.

xoxo

The flight was blissfully uneventful and Keith had used the time to catch up on some more sleep.

Nic had come back a second time hoping to make a better impression on him and found him sound asleep with Laurie sitting next to him reading a magazine. She smiled at Nic and followed her back to the wet bar when Nic had motioned her to do so.

After several minutes of silence, Laurie was just about to ask her why she'd wanted to talk to her when Nic finally found her nerve to ask the question that had been bothering her since they'd taken off. "Laurie, did I totally blow it with Keith earlier?"

"What?" Laurie was surprised by the question. Here was this totally confident woman asking a question that showed her vulnerability.

"Well, I came on pretty strong about being a liberal woman and I just wanted to know if it might have turned him off. He's pretty much given me the cold shoulder since." Nic looked Keith's way to make sure he was still asleep and although she couldn't see his face, she could tell his head was still resting against the side of the plane.

"Oh, Nic, don't take it personally." Laurie was about to continue but wasn't sure how much Keith would actually want her to share.

"How can I not? I mean, I thought at first he found me attractive. But since, he's been pretty standoffish." Nic pointed out.

"Nic, don't you read the newspaper?" Laurie was surprised that someone wouldn't know what was going on in Keith's life.

"Not recently. Dad and I just got back from a trip to Australia for a bunch of bankers from Frisco." Nic admitted.

"Well, I guess I could tell you the parts that are common knowledge to anyone who's been in the country recently." Laurie looked back at her sleeping brother and decided that she wouldn't be breaking any confidences if she kept it in general terms. "Nic, Keith's girlfriend was killed in an auto accident recently. In fact, we just attended her funeral two days ago. He wouldn't have taken you up on your offer even if he was interested."

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have even asked you about it. I feel so stupid." Nic looked down at her hands which she was wringing together. What was with her, she was not a timid or nervous person and here she was acting both.

"Nic, it's alright. You couldn't have known. I'm just glad to see him sleeping again. He wasn't sleeping very well for quite some time. Poor guy." Laurie said before she realized she probably should stop talking now. Keith wouldn't appreciate her telling any secrets to Nic and the lack of sleep was something that hadn't been in the papers.

"Thanks for sharing. I won't say anything." Nic looked at Laurie from under her lashes, "You won't tell Keith any of this will you? I'd be completely embarrassed."

"No, that's alright. It's just between the two of us." Laurie assured her and walked back to sit next to her brother when Nic went back to the cockpit.

xoxo

They landed in Albuquerque in the early evening to absolutely no fanfare which is what they had hoped for. No one knew they were in the city. Keith, Laurie and Detective Sherman took a cab to the hotel where Johnny was staying. It was safe to stay in the same hotel because the bus had been kept at a nearby garage so no one would suspect that Keith and Laurie were there. Besides, it should only be for one night. Johnny said the bus would be ready in the morning and they'd be on the road by around noon.

Keith and Laurie had planned to order room service and hit the hay early, but were both so restless after the long stretch of inactivity on the flight that they decided to take a walk first. They set out in full disguise and remained happily anonymous for more than 2 hours. They'd not thought to mention their little jaunt to Detective Sherman or he'd have insisted on coming along.

They left the hotel smiling at the lowering sun and the fresh air. They wandered aimlessly not really caring to see anything specific, just making sure to stay relatively close to the hotel. They'd stroll and stop as the mood struck them and checked out the sites around their hotel. By the time they got back, it was going on 8:00 pm. When they walked past the hotel restaurant, they noticed that it was almost empty. They glanced at each other and on impulse decided to eat out.

They asked the waitress for a table in the back. She winked and smiled at them thinking they were a couple that wanted privacy for other reasons. Keith and Laurie just laughed and accepted the table in the corner.

Once seated, they both felt safe enough to take off their disguises to check out the menu. The waitress looked at them a little curiously when she came back to take their order, but still hadn't been able to place them. For some reason they found that funny too.

While they ate they talked about the upcoming school year, music and any other subject that had nothing to do with Anne or Juliet. Both subjects were strictly taboo by unspoken agreement.

They got into a lively debate over what was the best venue they'd ever played. The next topic was Danny and his onstage antics. They studiously avoided a discussion of fans.

They'd taken their time eating and it was now going on nine when they were just about to leave. As Keith dipped into the cash their Mom had given them for this trip to pay the check, Laurie glanced up and noticed Ron and Nic coming into the restaurant. "Hey, look. It's the Landry's."

"What do you know? Guess they checked into the same hotel." Keith said as he glanced at them.

Ron noticed them as they were being led to a table and asked the waitress to give them a minute. He wandered over to the Partridge's and said, "Hi, didn't know you were staying here too. We just came down for some dessert and coffee. Care to join us?"

Laurie looked at Keith for his reaction. She knew she'd enjoy the company of another woman for a while, but didn't know how Keith would feel about socializing. He surprised her when he answered, "Sure, but why don't you come and join us back here."

"Sure thing." Ron said and motioned Nic to come and join them. Laurie noticed her reluctance and realized she was still embarrassed about their earlier conversation.

"Hi, we're not bothering you, are we?" She asked as soon as she walked up. "Dad, you didn't make them feel guilty, did you?"

"No, not at all. Come on, sit down." Keith invited and slid over for Nic to sit next to him. Laurie did likewise so that Ron could sit on her side.

The waitress came back and took their dessert orders as well as adding coffee cups and refilling Laurie and Keith's. Laurie declined any sweets, but Keith was talked into trying the restaurants famous apple pie. Ron settled for a piece of cherry pie and Nic ordered their 'death by chocolate' cake.

"How do you stay so slim if you eat like that?" Laurie asked enviously.

"I'm very active. I run and even practice yoga and martial arts. It helps me with my upper body strength." Nic told her.

"All the things she'll need once she joins the navy." Ron winked at her.

"Exactly." Nic agreed and glanced at Keith to see if her athletic bent turned him off. He probably liked girly girls that only thought about boys and dating.

"Which martial art?" Keith asked interested in her unusual habits.

"Mostly Tai Kwan Do, but a little karate too." She admitted.

"Cool. I don't have time for that, but I've always been interested. Is it hard to learn?" He asked.

"No, not at all. I belong to a gym in Frisco. The master there is quite good." Nic had to stop herself from going on. She tended to get lost in her passions.

"How did you get interested?" Laurie asked.

"One of my girlfriends was mugged just outside our apartment and since then I've decided that being able to defend myself was very important. I'm a firm believer that all women should have basic self defense classes. Laurie, you should really consider it. Especially with all the traveling you do." Nic pointed out.

"That's true, but luckily for me I'm very seldom alone. Privacy is one thing that's sadly lacking when you're on the road with your family. Especially when you travel by bus." Laurie shared a smile with Keith at the unique mode of transportation that they chose.

"I bet that's true. I never thought of it that way. Usually it's just me and dad and he can't be with me every second of every day while we're traveling." Nic pointed out.

"I worry about her constantly, but she's proven herself more than capable so I'm doing my best to give her some space. Not easy for a single parent." Ron added.

"My Mom would probably agree with you there. She almost didn't let us come on this trip." Laurie told them.

"How did you talk her into it?" Ron asked.

Laurie and Keith shared an uneasy look and Keith quickly said, "Well, we hired a driver for our tour and he needs to get back for his next job. When our bus broke down, we didn't think it would take so long to fix. But it is rather old and it's hard to find parts to fix it. So, we'll need to drive through the night to get Johnny home in time to start his new job."

Laurie smiled apologetically at Keith for bringing up a subject that was uncomfortable. He hadn't had to lie, he'd just left a lot unsaid. She quickly changed the subject to travel and knew that the Landry's would have lots of stories to tell about where they'd been and what they'd seen.

They weren't disappointed. Ron and Nic shared some truly fascinating stories about different countries that they'd seen. When they started talking about the U.S., they made sure that Keith and Laurie shared some of their travel stories too. When they found out that the Partridges had toured Europe, the conversation took another turn. Before they knew it is was going on eleven and the waitress said the restaurant would be closing shortly.

They settled the bill and got up to head to the exit. No one noticed the girl sitting in the booth next to the one they had all shared for the last couple of hours.

She glared daggers at Ron and Nic Landry. Once again there was another girl sitting next to Keith when she should be there.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Juliet followed their progress out of the restaurant with hate filled eyes that were trained on the pretty blond who walked beside Keith. She'd been at the airport that afternoon trying to charter a flight back to San Pueblo. She had gotten food poisoning a couple of days ago and when she'd finally been able to lift her head from the hotel pillow, Keith had been gone. It had taken her a while to figure out that the family had flown back and cancelled the rest of their tour. She'd finally located the bus and had watched it trying to catch up with the family. She'd only found the driver they'd hired. No one from the family was around.

She'd tried engaging Johnny in conversation, but he'd been tight lipped about the family's whereabouts. She hadn't wanted to push, and give away who she was, so she just staked him out instead. Sooner or later he'd take her to the family right?

She'd been wrong and had finally decided to fly back to San Pueblo and find Keith there. That's where her luck had changed. As she'd hid behind a vending machine, she'd watched Keith and Laurie along with another man who she would need to identify get into a cab. She'd been happy to see her luck hold when she'd spotted them walking out of Johnny's hotel a while later. She'd temporarily lost them at the airport and had headed there on a whim.

She'd followed them around on their stroll through the neighborhood and into the restaurant for dinner. She'd been unpleasantly surprised to have them joined by their pilots. She'd also been very displeased to hear them having such a great time talking about travel and such. She'd made one quick trip to the rest room and missed part of the conversation, but she'd heard enough to know that the blond bimbo had set her sights on Keith.

Juliet just hoped Keith did not share the feeling. Because if he did…..

xoxo

Keith and Laurie made plans to meet by 9:00 to eat breakfast and pick up the bus. They would pick up Johnny and get on the road earlier than originally planned. Keith had just recently said goodnight to Laurie in the hallway and headed to his room. Though they had a connecting door, they'd agreed not to open it and spend a private night away from each other. It was rare that they spent time away from the rest of the family, much less each other and decided to see what it was like to have total and complete privacy while in a hotel.

So far, Keith thought it was just perfect. He'd gotten back, taken a quick shower and was now lounging around in his bathrobe trying to find something on TV. He'd slept too much on the plane to settle down so early. He'd thought about getting out his guitar, but didn't feel like writing or even playing at the moment.

He had just about decided that lying in bed and staring at the ceiling would be more entertaining than anything on the television, when there was a knock on his door. He foolishly didn't check the peep hole as he expected to see Laurie on the other side, unable to sleep from the total lack of noise. "Laurie, what's wrong……"

He stopped short when instead of Laurie, he found Nic leaning against the door frame. She'd changed from her jeans and a black tank top to a short skirt and a white tank top that showed her bra clearly through the material.

"Hi, can I come in?" Nic asked hopefully.

"Ummm…sure." Keith said as he stepped back to give her room. "How did you know what room I was in?"

"I persuaded the bellboy to give it to me." Nic said as she walked in and turned around. Why in the world was she so nervous? This had been her plan, after all, hadn't it? I mean, it was almost as if fate had had a hand in things. Keith was already in a robe and nothing else if she wasn't mistaken.

"Ah." Keith said unsure of what she had planned.

"You don't mind, do you?" Nic asked not quite sure of what her next move should be. She wasn't exactly the most practiced seductress. She'd had boyfriends, but she also tended toward being more of a tomboy than a flirt.

"I suppose not. Was there something special you wanted?" Keith thought he had an idea but wasn't sure yet if this was what he wanted. His last one night stand had ended uncomfortably, to say the least. He'd enjoyed the release, but the next morning he hadn't particularly liked the fact that he really didn't know the person he'd shared a very intimate moment with. He liked making love much more than having sex. Some of his girlfriends had taught him that, especially Anne.

Boy, he wasn't going to make this easy, was all Nic could think as she bit her lip in indecision. Her plan had sounded much better when she'd been alone in her room.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all." Nic said as she blushed and started to walk back toward the door. She stopped abruptly when she would have run into Keith. He didn't step aside as she'd expected.

"Maybe you should tell me what this idea was before you decide it wasn't good." Keith was starting to react to the beautiful woman who had obviously dressed to seduce. He didn't question his body's reaction, just decided to let it take him where it would.

"Oh…um….well, I thought that maybe you'd want to…..um…..get to know each other better. You know, with no one else around." She finished quickly.

"Ah…and is a hotel room the setting you were looking for?" Keith was trying to understand her real intentions. She was being very vague for someone who claimed to be so independent and assertive.

"Bastard." Nic said before she could stop herself. She knew he was trying to make her uncomfortable. Was it because he wasn't interested or because she had been the one to make the first move? Or was it for some other reason she hadn't thought of?

Keith raised an eyebrow and stepped aside expecting her to storm out of the room. Nic watched what appeared to be disappointment flash through his eyes, but that couldn't be could it? He'd been doing everything to make her leave of her own accord, right?

Nic decided to do the unexpected; it was what she excelled at, right? She crossed her arms and grabbed the bottom of her tank top. Before she could change her mind, she lifted it quickly and pulled it over her head. She watched the surprise flash in Keith's eyes and just as quickly stepped close and brought her lips to his. He met her immediately in a deep kiss. She'd thought she was going to have to tempt and tease a response out of him, but that was not the case. He took the lead from her quickly and she soon felt the wall at her back as Keith pushed her against it to gain more full body contact.

She felt his desire push into her hip and couldn't hold back a groan of excitement. She thought he'd been sending signals since she'd walked in that said he wasn't interested. Man, had she been wrong.

His hands were everywhere. First on her face, holding her steady for his kisses. Then he slowly began to lower them, sliding across her neck and down the side of her chest. They were pressed too closely together for him to touch her breasts, but she didn't have long to mourn that loss because his hands were soon on her hips pulling her more tightly against him. The kiss had gone from hot, to steamy, to downright carnal in minutes.

"You sure you want to do this?" Keith asked as he pulled back giving her the opportunity to back out before things went too far.

She looked into his dark eyes that were burning with passion and could only nod her head. She bit her lip again which caused Keith's eyes to fall and watch the action. He leaned forward and licked the spot she'd just bit. He then sucked her lip into this mouth and gave it some additional attention. Her eyes fluttered shut as she allowed sensation to take over her body.

Keith's hands had worked there way under her skirt and were already beginning to lower her panties. She couldn't hold back another groan that vibrated between their connected mouths. She felt her panties slide down her legs and very carefully stepped out of them.

She was surprised when Keith suddenly left her propped against the wall and walked over to the dresser. "What? Where are you going?" She said in shock.

"To get protection." Keith said as he pulled a condom from his wallet and showed it to her.

"You don't need that. I'm on the pill. In fact, I prefer it without." She said as she watched him come back to her.

Maybe he was too trusting, but he dropped the packet on the dresser at the last minute and grabbed her hand to pull her over to the bed. He preferred it without too.

When they reached the foot of the bed, they both finished removing the rest of her clothes and Nic untied Keith's robe. If she was going to be totally naked, so was he. She sighed happily when she finally got to see the proof that he was definitely interested. She wrapped her hands around him and licked her lips before looking back at his face. She saw him close his eyes as she continued to give him pleasure with her hands. She moved forward and ran her tongue over his lips. His hands came up quickly to pull her in for a deep wet kiss.

Keith had regretted not taking more time with the last one night stand. Oh, man, he'd already forgotten her name. Would he forget Nic's as quickly too? At the moment, did he really care?

Keith backed her to the bed and guided her down. She watched him intently as she pushed herself back so that she was lying in the middle of the bed. He quickly joined her and then began to kiss his way down her neck to her breasts. He spent time getting to know the shape and size with his hands and mouth. She was writhing underneath him and was moaning and sighing quietly. She buried her hands in his hair and tried her best to get closer than they already were. She nearly screamed when his hand found its way between her legs. She knew she was more than ready for him. "Please, Keith, now, please." She begged.

Her plea brought his eyes up to hers. She watched his lips tilt into a slight smile. He bent his head back down and began licking and tasting his way up her neck and finally settled between her thighs. He entered her gently while staring intently into her eyes. She smiled contentedly as he pushed in deep. She couldn't believe it. She had Keith Partridge filling her completely. She closed her eyes to savor the moment.

She reopened them when he didn't move. He was still watching her closely. What was he looking for? As soon as she made eye contact, he started to move. It was soul shattering. She tried, she really did, to keep her eyes open, but it was too much. She was dying. When her eyes drifted closed, he stopped moving. "No." She said before opening her eyes again.

As soon as their eyes met again, he started to move. She finally realized that he wanted to watch her while he brought her pleasure. He was trying to connect in a much deeper way than she could have ever expected. It was both disconcerting and deeply touching. She thought she might be falling in love with each stroke.

As her orgasm overtook her, she finally lost the battle and closed her eyes to let the feeling rush through her blood stream. She felt his own release fill her and she felt complete for the first time in her life.

She was completely incapable of moving. She knew she had a silly smile on her face, but could do nothing to get rid of it.

Keith lifted her gently to pull the covers down and then back up over her. He made a quick trip to the bathroom and then joined her in the bed. He turned off the light and settled down. At first she'd been too euphoric to talk, but now wouldn't have minded sharing her feelings. Keith just pulled her close and his breathing was soon evened out in sleep. She snuggled close and decided that they could wait until morning to talk.

She woke up at 9:30 to find herself alone. Keith was gone. His suitcase was gone too. She was stunned. They'd had such a connection she was sure that they were going to spend the morning talking about how to work out their busy schedules so that they could continue to see each other.

Oh, who was she fooling? She'd come to the room looking for a one night stand and that's exactly what she'd gotten. He'd even given her the opportunity to walk out before anything happened. She hadn't taken it.

xoxo

"It sure drives different without all that weight in the back." Johnny mentioned as he pulled away from the garage and pointed the bus west. Reuben had arranged for the equipment to be shipped back to San Pueblo by a moving company. He hadn't wanted to risk it being lost or damaged while the bus waited to be repaired.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Keith said from the seat behind him. "Feels almost light, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, like a strong wind will topple us over." Johnny laughed as he headed up the freeway on ramp. He glanced back to see a car following them, but didn't think anything of it as the car turned off on the next exit ramp.

"It'll take more than that, but it's a lot easier to drive without all that extra weight." Keith assured him.

"We should make good time. By the way, who's the third wheel?" Johnny asked as he looked at the detective who'd taken a seat toward the back and after watching behind them for a while had settled back into his files.

"Oh, he's a detective from San Pueblo. He's here to protect me from the wind, I guess." Keith told him.

"What, you don't think you have anything to worry about any more?" Johnny glanced at him in surprise.

"I'm not saying that. It's just I think that Juliet is likely in San Pueblo by now. How would she know I'm back in New Mexico?" Keith told him.

"Makes sense." Johnny said glad that he didn't have to watch every vehicle as if it held danger.

xoxo

"Nic are you alright?" Ron asked as he took a good look at his daughter when she pulled open her room door. "You look like you were run over by a truck. And, why aren't you ready?"

"Thanks, dad. That's very flattering." Nic said sarcastically. She had just gotten back to her room and had been about to jump in the shower when her dad had knocked on the door.

"Sorry, honey. Didn't you sleep well?" His daughter was rarely cranky but this morning she was bordering on downright grumpy.

"Better than I should have." She mumbled under her breath. If she hadn't been sleeping so soundly, she'd have heard Keith get up and leave her. "Look, dad, I'll be fine in a little while. I'm just not fully awake yet."

"Alright. Can you be downstairs in 10 minutes?" Ron asked.

"Make it a half an hour, ok?" Nic said as she really needed to take that shower.

"Alright, then you'll need to make your way to the airport on your own. I'll do the pre-flight inspection for you. This time." He winked at her as he watched her stick out her tongue in retaliation before closing the door.

Later that morning, she didn't notice the woman paying the two thugs to follow her taxi as she pulled away from the hotel. She was still too busy going over what had happened the night before. She somehow had the feeling that she'd missed the opportunity of a lifetime but had no idea where she'd gone wrong. Keith had acted like someone who was really trying to connect with her instead of just having casual sex. Yet, when she'd woken up and found him gone, she was sure she'd misread him.

She frowned behind her sunglasses. She was going to have to let this go. It wasn't likely she'd run into him again. Not unless she specifically set out to find him. Should she? Would he want her to?

As she pondered this latest thought, a car forced her taxi to stop by cutting it off and slamming on its brakes. Nic sat in stunned silence as two strapping, dirty men got out and headed directly to the back of the taxi. Before she could realize what was happening and lock the doors, she was being pulled from the taxi and dragged toward the other car. At first she was too shocked to react, but as she finally pushed her fear aside her training took over. She dug in her heels and yanked her arm from the grip of one of her attackers. He had been surprised by her strength and stumbled slightly as he lost his grip. With one temporarily off balance, Nic turned her attention to the one that still had a firm hold on her left arm. She took the base of her hand and rammed it as hard as she could into his nose feeling and hearing the cartilage break. His scream of pain was cut off quickly by her right knee making contact with his most vulnerable parts. He dropped like a rock, whimpering in pain.

Her other attacker, seeing his buddy on the ground decided to attack rather than playing nice. He swung a meaty fist and connected with her left cheek bone knocking her to the ground. He kicked her in the ribs hoping to incapacitate her immediately. She rolled away quickly making the kick lose most of its impact, though she still grunted in pain.

She swung her legs quickly around catching him in the back of his legs and knocking him to his knees. She quickly regained her feet, checked her balance and let loose with a round house kick that caught him square across the face. He went down like a ton of bricks.

As Nic, bounced on the balls of her feet, she was met by a cheer from the crowd that had stopped to watch the unexpected attack take place. They cheered the petite blond who'd out-fought the two big goons. Her cab driver came up quickly and told her that the police were on their way. He asked her if she was alright and she assured him that she would be.

She sat down gingerly on the curb when she heard the police sirens in the distance. What the hell had just happened? Why would anyone want to attack her?

xoxo

Juliet had driven just over the speed limit for the last hour. She should be catching up to the Partridge Family bus soon she estimated. She knew that the old relic wouldn't be able to outpace her rental car so it was only a matter of time. Besides they wouldn't have left the highway and they hadn't been on the road long enough to need to take a break.

She was just starting to wonder if she'd been wrong about the rest stop when she finally noticed the multi colored behemoth ahead of her. She slowed down and followed at a safe distance. She needed time to think and plan her next move.

She checked her watch and sneered. The blond bitch should be taken care of by now. One more roadblock out of her way. Too bad her chosen love had so many women after him. She'd be fighting them off for years to come. It was all part of loving the most gorgeous man on the planet, she sighed.

xoxo

"Nic, my god, what happened?" Ron came charging into the exam room of the Albuquerque hospital. "Are you alright?"

"I'm not really sure, dad. I'm fine. Or I will be shortly." Nic assured him with a smile that wasn't quite straight. The swelling on her left cheek stopped it from being its usual beautiful self.

"They said two men tried to grab you from your cab. Why? I don't understand." Ron continued as he pulled his daughter into a hug. He pulled back quickly at her hiss of pain.

"Careful, Dad. I've got a couple of bruised ribs too." Nic informed him as she pulled him back in for a more gentle but much needed hug. "I'm waiting to hear from the police as to who the two guys were and what they wanted with me."

"Excuse me, Miss Landry?" A young officer peeked into the room.

"Yes, officer. Do you have some news for me?" Nic asked.

"We still don't know much, but they say they were hired by a young woman just before you got in the cab. They were instructed to make sure you never made it to the airport." The officer told them.

"But why? I haven't done anything to anyone that should make them want to hurt me." Nic asked baffled.

"No jealous boyfriends or disgruntled clients?" the officer questioned.

"Ha, not likely." Nic's mind went to the night before. Keith was definitely not a jealous boyfriend. He hadn't even waited around to say good morning. Nor could he and his sister be disgruntled clients. In fact, they'd been very pleased by the services the Landry's had provided. _All_ of them, if Nic wasn't mistaken.

"Can you give us a list of your most recent passengers?" the officer requested.

"I'm sorry, but we pride ourselves on our confidentiality. We don't do anything illegal, but we do fly famous people places they do not necessarily want others to know about. We can't, won't divulge that information." Nic said firmly.

"Even if it will help us to find out who did this to you?" Ron asked more concerned with his daughter's safety than in their reputation.

"Dad, we'll never book another flight if we name names and places." Nic pointed out.

"Well, the two men have produced a sketch of the woman who hired them." The officer pulled out a sketch of a woman and handed it to Nic. "Do you recognize her?"

"No, I've never seen her before." Nic assured him.

"Well, we'll do our best to identify her. Please leave us your contact information and we'll get back to you once we know anything." The officer left quickly.

"You sure you didn't recognize her?" Ron asked.

"Dad, I've never seen that woman before. Besides, what could she possibly have against me?" Nic was still baffled by the whole incident. Maybe it was a case of mistaken identity.

xoxo

It was the middle of the night and Keith was getting tired. They were only a couple of hours from Las Vegas and planned on skirting the city. Laurie and the Detective were sound asleep in the back rows on opposite sides of the bus. Johnny was sleeping in the seat right behind Keith.

Keith knew he had to take a break pretty soon so when he'd spotted the gas station he'd looked down and noticed they needed fuel anyway. He had pulled into the station, filled the bus and made a pit stop before waking Johnny. Johnny bought a cup of coffee from the all night diner next door and took the driver's seat when he got back on the bus.

"Anything interesting?" Johnny asked Keith before he settled in for his nap.

"Just some road construction coming up. Other than that it's been quiet." Keith assured him as he pulled a blanket up under his chin and closed his eyes before Johnny pulled the bus back onto the highway. The rocking motion soon put him to sleep.

Johnny had been driving for about an hour when he noticed a van coming up behind him. He slowed slightly hoping it would pass him before they entered the next set of construction. He knew he typically drove slower than other drivers wanted to so he signaled the driver to pass him when it was clear.

Johnny watched the van pull alongside the bus and then pulled his eyes back to the front. Just as the van pulled even, he noticed something odd. An arm came out the side window and what looked like a gun was aimed at the front tire. Johnny was just about to brake hard when the shot sounded. Though he had slowed slightly, he was still traveling at over 60 mph and with the front tire blown out, he struggled to control the out of control weight. He struggled to keep the bus steady as he tried to slow their speed. He thought he just might succeed when he suddenly felt the blown tire enter a rut and the bus was pulled toward the shoulder. As it hit the soft dirt, the tires dug in and he felt the bus tilt and then fall almost gently on its side.

The impact may not have been that hard for the bus itself, but to the unsuspecting passengers who were on the side of the bus that ended up being on top the impact was anything but. Keith, Detective Sherman and Johnny, who had forgotten to put on his seatbelt, were all tossed unceremoniously like rag dolls to the other side. Laurie, though she wasn't thrown to the other side of the bus, still cracked her head quite violently on the window frame.

Johnny watched in horror as the bus doors rushed up to greet him. He felt his collar bone snap on impact. He also had pain in his right leg. He wasn't sure why, but he felt a wet stickiness spread over his pant leg.

He painfully turned over onto his back so that he could turn his head to see what had happened to Keith, Laurie and the Detective. What he saw brought him no comfort.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Closest to him, he could see Keith lying on the shattered windows of the bus's right side. Blood coated the right side of his head and he wasn't moving. He was out cold.

Further back, Laurie was lying awkwardly on her back partially in the third row of seats where she'd been asleep. He couldn't see any obvious injuries. She just looked like she was still sleeping. However, he wasn't foolish enough to believe that. She'd likely been thrown as violently as the rest of them. Whatever was wrong with her just wasn't obvious to him.

Directly behind her, the detective was groaning loudly as he tried to move. As Johnny watched, the detective began to scream in agony as he tried moving his left leg which had sustained a compound fracture. At least he was conscious, was all Johnny could think.

As he laid in agony, Johnny finally began to see bobbing lights approaching the bus. The cavalry had arrived. Thank God! They were saved.

xoxo

"I just want the two young people. Leave the two older men." Juliet instructed her hired muscle.

They opened the emergency door in the back of the bus and Juliet held it up while they entered the bus. Without the equipment, the back was wide open and they walked without trouble until they came upon the detective.

Detective Sherman, having heard the conversation was trying to pull his gun from its holster, but his pain dulled reflexes made him slow.

"He has a gun. Take it from him." Juliet instructed. "Give it to me."

The first man to reach the detective was easily able to wrestle the gun from him and handed it back to Juliet. "Alright, now go get them."

They were both very large and burly men. Each one easily picked up Keith and Laurie and walked out of the bus in only minutes. Johnny watched it all happen knowing he could do nothing to stop it. His eyes filled with tears of frustration.

He blinked them away quickly. He had every intention of having perfect descriptions of each of the three people who had come to the bus.

"Get that light out of my face." Juliet yelled at the big oaf she'd hired to help her with this latest part of her plan. Johnny smiled in appreciation as it gave him the opportunity to see the one person who had stayed the furthest away from him. As they walked away, Johnny finally lost his battle to remain conscious.

xoxo

Johnny regained consciousness when the detective's screams rose to a crescendo. Johnny blinked his eyes open to see paramedics doing their best to load him on a gurney without hurting him any further. It just wasn't easy in the cramped confines of the tipped bus.

"This one's awake too." The fireman near him noticed quickly. "Where're you hurt, man?"

"My collar bone is broken and there's something wrong with my right leg. I don't think it's broken, but I must have gashed it on the gear shift of something." Johnny said as the paramedics had handed off the first gurney and headed toward Johnny. "Where are Keith and Laurie?"

"Who?" The fireman asked.

"There were two teenagers on the bus with us. Where are they?" Johnny asked frantically.

"You were the only two here when we showed up." The fireman assured him.

"No, no. I remember now. Some woman showed up with two apes. They took 'em." Johnny said.

"He's talking crazy guys. Get over here." The fireman said.

"I didn't mean actual apes. I meant two big burly guys. I can describe them and give you a sketch. Just take me to the police station." Johnny somehow forgot his injuries.

"You're not going anywhere but to the hospital." The first paramedic to arrive told him.

"You don't understand. The other two occupants of this bus really are members of the Partridge Family. It was Keith and Laurie Partridge. They've been taken. Their mother needs to be told and you need to start looking for them." Johnny was becoming agitated trying to get them to listen to him.

A fireman standing on the top of the bus had heard Johnny's words and said, "It does say here on the side of the bus that this is the Partridge Family bus."

"Then let's get a police officer down here. They'll want to talk to this man. Relax Mister, we'll have you out of here in no time." The second paramedic assured him.

xoxo

Laurie woke to the sun piercing her eyelids and causing her headache to throb to a whole new level of intensity. She turned her head away from the shaft of light and received some relief. Why did she ache so badly?

She reluctantly opened her eyes completely and stared at a dirty wall. She blinked thinking that she just needed to clear her vision and her bedroom at home would come into focus. The wall didn't change.

She painfully turned her head to survey the rest of her surroundings. As she slowly scanned the room, she noticed a boarded up window that permitted the small beam of sun that had woken her. She also noticed cobwebs and dust everywhere. It floated in motes on the shaft of sunlight. Her eyes continued to her right and landed on a cot that must be much like the one she was lying on. A woman sat on the side of that cot lovingly holding the hand of the person lying there. She had entwined their fingers and was studying the hand she held closely. She was talking softly, but Laurie couldn't make out what she was saying nor could she see her face clearly. She could tell that she was young and that her hair was a light brown, other than that, nothing was clear. Her blurry vision caused a halo to surround the woman. It was like a bright light was shining directly behind everything she looked at.

Laurie blinked her eyes again trying to get them to focus. The young woman bent forward and was running her fingers through the hair of the man lying there. The look was so obviously loving, that Laurie wondered who the woman was and who was lying in the other cot.

She blinked furiously. Who was in the room with her? She closed her eyes tightly and reopened them. The first thing she noticed was that the woman was bending forward and kissing the man lying there. Her eyes finally focused enough to realize that Keith was lying on that other cot. When she realized it was Keith, she couldn't hold back a gasp of surprise.

When the woman heard the noise, she didn't look toward Laurie but ducked her head and turned away from Laurie. Who was she?

The woman quickly stood up and, keeping her back to Laurie, quickly walked out of the room. Laurie followed her progress and then looked back at Keith. Was he alive?

"Keith?" She croaked. Why was her throat so dry? She cleared her throat and tried again, "Keith?" It came out a little stronger but still very rough.

He didn't move.

She sat up and swallowed hard to push down the bile that rose as the world swirled around her. She waited a moment for the dizziness to leave then slowly stood up on shaky legs. As she put weight on her left ankle, she winced as pain shot up her leg. She tried putting weight on it again and it held. She must have bruised or sprained it. She limped over to the other cot and sat down next to Keith.

"Keith." She said again and put her left hand on his face. He was warm. Maybe too warm, but at least he was alive. "Keith, can you hear me?"

He didn't answer or move. She noticed the dried blood on the side of his head. As she looked down his body, she noticed that his right leg just above the knee had a bandage around it. Blood had already soaked through which meant it was still bleeding. She grabbed some gauze that was lying on the bed next to Keith and put direct pressure on the wound that she had yet to see. In her first aid training, she knew it was best not to peal off the old bandage but to stop the bleeding with direct pressure.

"Come on, Keith. I need you to wake up." Laurie tried her best to hold back the tears that threatened to spill. She blinked hard and held them at bay, but if Keith didn't wake up soon she didn't know how long she'd last.

"Keith, please, wake up." She begged.

"I doubt he'll be waking up soon. I've been talking to him for a while and he hasn't responded." A voice said from behind her.

Laurie stood up and turned around quickly. She swayed precariously as the room spun around her once again. It took her several moments to stop it and several more to focus on the woman who had spoken.

The woman who had walked into the room stood in a shadow and wore a hat to hide her identity. Was it the same woman as before? "Who are you and what do you want with us?" Laurie asked frightened but refusing to show it.

"Why, I'm Juliet. Don't you recognize me?" Juliet mocked her.

"Not with you hiding behind that disguise." Laurie said bravely.

"I wouldn't be too sassy if I were you. Your well being relies on my good will." Juliet pointed out.

Laurie clamped her lips together. When the silence stretched on with the woman just staring at her brother Laurie finally asked, "Where are we?"

"Wouldn't you like to know? Just be sure that no one will be finding you anytime soon. We're safe here while I wait for the heat to wear off. Right now, the police are combing the area looking for the two of you. But, they don't know that I'm prepared to wait a very long time for what I want. I already have. What's a little longer?" Juliet continued to stare at Keith. She wished he would wake up too. She preferred to watch him moving around. Singing and playing guitar would be her preference. Talking would be a close second. But she'd take him any way she could get him.

"You're crazy if you think they'll ever stop looking." Laurie said without thinking.

"Crazy am I? What's so crazy about knowing what you want and doing everything to get it? You don't know anything about me, Miss High and Mighty." Juliet yelled. "You look down on everybody who isn't famous like you and your brother. You hurt people just to prove you can. I've seen it."

"What? I don't know what you're talking about." Laurie asked puzzled by the attack. What could Juliet have against her? She didn't even know her, did she? Besides, Laurie knew she wasn't perfect, but she certainly didn't do the things Juliet accused her of.

"You hurt people. Take away the one thing they bet their whole future on and don't even think twice about it. You chase after boys and then dash their dreams in the dust under your glass slipper. You are such a princess and yet stand in front of me acting like you have no idea what I'm taking about." Juliet spat.

Laurie couldn't follow the riddle that Juliet was talking in. "I don't understand."

"Oh just shut up!" Juliet said as she walked back through the door and slammed it shut. Laurie heard a key scrape in the lock and knew that they were prisoners in this little room.

xoxo

Chris and Tracy had been dropped off at Mrs. Monahan's until Shirley's parents could get into town. Reuben, Shirley and Danny all headed to the airport. They weren't waiting a moment longer to get to Las Vegas. It was where Johnny had been taken and it was the command post for the search for Keith and Laurie.

Shirley had first been in shock. Reuben had taken charge and she'd answered like an automaton. It had taken Danny to say, "do you think they're still alive?" for Shirley to snap out of it.

"Danny!" She'd gasped and then she'd noticed that he was close to tears. She'd grabbed her middle son and held him tightly as she told him, "Your brother and sister are both very much alive. I'd know it if they weren't."

She'd looked at Reuben in desperation and he'd nodded at her logic which held no water. He knew there was no way she could be certain, yet somehow he believed that what she'd told Danny was true. If they were dead, she would somehow know it.

She'd allowed herself a few moments of tears and then resolutely brushed them away. She sent the kids each on an errand to keep them busy and then sat with Reuben to make their travel plans. Danny, having finished his errand, begged to be allowed to go with them. Shirley had been too distracted to argue.

On the drive over to the airport, she flashed upon her thoughts at Anne's funeral. Was she about to experience the same pain that the D'Angelo's had experienced when they'd lost Anne? Only, hers would be twofold. How would she deal with the loss of her two oldest? Could she?

When they got to the airport, they chartered their flight with the Landry's. The Landry's were at loose ends because they'd had to give their normally booked flight to another crew. Nic's brush with her two goons had made them leave Albuquerque too late to take their previously scheduled group.

When they heard why Shirley, Reuben and Danny needed a fast way to Las Vegas, they dropped everything and Nic started the preflight check while her father registered their flight plan. They'd be in the air in less than a half an hour.

xoxo

After Laurie was sure she'd finally stopped Keith's leg from bleeding, she had checked out their limited quarters. Besides the two cots, a table and a chair were in the small room. Another door hid a tiny bathroom that included a toilet and sink. Laurie cupped her hands together and drank her fill of water. Once back out in the main room, she noticed that the only other door, the one Juliet had left through, was locked and led who knew where. To freedom? Maybe, but she wasn't betting on it.

Since she'd completed the nickel tour of their quarters, she'd been pacing the room trying to get her ankle to loosen up. She'd looked at it and found that it had a very large and ugly bruise but appeared alright otherwise. She had to be ready to run or who knew what else. She'd have to be vigilant and ready to move whenever the right opportunity presented itself.

She was worried about Keith's leg wound. Though she'd stopped it from bleeding, it would be easy for infection to set in as the room was not very clean. She also didn't know if Juliet had cleaned it before she'd bandaged it. But, until she had more bandages and some antiseptic, she didn't want to expose it to more germs. She'd beg for the supplies if she had to.

She got her chance when Juliet came into the room a short time later.

"Sit down." Juliet instructed Laurie and watched her do as she said.

Laurie watched as Juliet came closer. She tried in vain to get a good look at her face. Juliet had added a kerchief on the bottom half of her face. So, Laurie surmised that if she could see her face, she'd likely recognize her. It was the only reason Juliet could have for making sure Laurie didn't see her.

She watched as Juliet approached Keith. "What are you going to do to him?" Laurie couldn't stop herself from asking.

Juliet said nothing as she sat down on the side of Keith's cot. Once again, she touched his face lovingly and brushed his hair back as if willing him to wake up.

"He needs a doctor." Laurie suggested hopefully. If Juliet truly loved Keith, she would want to make sure he was alright. Wouldn't she?

"Did you say something?" Juliet said with venom and shot a hard look at Laurie.

"Well, I was just thinking that with that head wound Keith probably has a concussion. It's not good that he's been unconscious for this long. He should have woken up by now. What if his head injury is worse than you think? And his leg probably needs stitches." Laurie pointed out.

Juliet looked closely at Keith. Could he be hurt worse than she thought? Did he need to see a doctor? She couldn't safely take him to one in the area that's for sure. He'd wake up soon. He had to.

Laurie noticed that she had Juliet considering her suggestion. Now for the medical supplies. "Could I have some more bandages? It's not for me, it's for Keith. His leg needs to be cleaned. And antiseptic if you have it. He could get an infection. Would that be ok?"

Juliet liked the idea of having Keith cleaned up. She felt a little guilty every time she came in and saw his obvious injuries. It hurt her to have hurt him. She just hadn't had time to do it yet herself what with making sure they weren't found.

"Alright. I'll be right back." Juliet left the room and came back with a bowl, a first aid kit and some clean rags. "Clean him up first." She instructed and went to stand by the door.

Laurie happily complied. She got water for the bowl, grabbed the rag and gently began wiping the dried blood from Keith's face. As she worked she finally realized that he'd hit his head just under the hairline above his left eye. He had a huge knot along with the cut. She wasn't sure how long it would be before he woke up, but he needed to regain consciousness so they could find out if he had any other injuries.

"There, that's better." She said to Keith as she fluffed his hair away from the area she'd cleaned.

"That is better. Thank you." Juliet said from the doorway and after looking her fill walked out.

xoxo

Shirley was the first one off the plane once Nic had lowered the steps. Reuben and Danny were hot on her heels. She rushed over to the waiting police car that had been sent to meet them.

"Is there any word?" Shirley asked breathlessly.

"Nothing yet, Mrs. Partridge. Why don't you get in? I'll take you to the command post. The Detective in charge may know more by now." The officer said as he opened the door. Shirley wasted no time getting in. She needed to get as close to her missing kids as she possibly could. Danny followed close behind.

Reuben paused for a moment to ask Ron to take there luggage to the Sands hotel. It's where he had made a reservation. He didn't expect they'd spend much time there, but once they found Laurie and Keith they'd need a place to take them, right?

Ron told him to go and not worry about a thing. He'd work it out with the hotel manager and drop keys off at the command post himself if necessary.

"Did you notice that Nic had a black eye?" Danny said as Reuben slid in beside him.

"Now that you mention it, yes, I did." Reuben answered absently.

"Wonder how she got that." Danny said, but neither adult was listening any longer. They were both already miles down the road.

When they pulled up at the command post, which was really just a tent not far from the crash site, Shirley once again rushed quickly ahead of Danny and Reuben. She stopped abruptly when she entered the tent, both to adjust her eyes to the change in light and to get her bearings. Which of these men was in charge?

As she scanned the busy scene in front of her, she noticed an older man who appeared to be the focal point of all activity. Shirley was surprised to see Detective Anderson from Dallas standing nearby. He nodded at her and motioned that the man she suspected was in charge really was. She walked forward and was about to introduce herself when he turned around and his intelligent brown eyes bore into hers.

"Ah, Mrs. Partridge, you've arrived. I'm Commander Phelps from the LVPD. I'm in charge of finding your children. Let's take a short walk to get away from this noise and I'll fill you in." He motioned for her to lead the way back outside. Reuben and Danny followed behind once again.

He led her over to an area that had been set up to provide refreshments for the search parties that were out in every direction. For now, the area was empty. There was still plenty of daylight to be out searching.

When they were all seated, he started his explanation. "Mrs. Partridge, according to your driver, Mr. Burnhardt, your son and daughter have been taken by a female and two men. They forced the bus off the road by shooting out the front tire."

"Wow, really?" Danny couldn't help but say.

"Danny, shh, let him finish." Shirley said without looking at him.

"Mr. Burnhardt says they were both alive but thinks they may have been unconscious from the accident. The two men carried them out. He did get good looks at all of them and wouldn't even let the doctors look at him until our sketch artist had renderings of each of the three." Phelps motioned for an officer to bring over the pictures. "Do you recognize any of them?"

Shirley, Reuben and Danny all took a good look at each of the pictures. Shirley began shaking her head in frustration, "No, no, I don't recognize any of them."

"So, the female isn't a former girlfriend of Keith's?" Detective Anderson came up to ask the question.

"No, I don't think so. I mean, I haven't met all of his girlfriends. If he didn't see someone for very long he didn't always bring them home." Shirley admitted. "Danny, you know more about Keith's activities than I do. Does she look familiar to you?"

"She never dated Keith, but she does look kinda familiar." Danny said as he studied the picture again. "I can't place her though. I know I've seen her somewhere."

"Where?" They all asked in unison.

"I can't remember." Danny said in frustration and looked at his mother as if he'd failed her.

"It's alright Danny, just take your time. Maybe it will come back to you." Shirley hugged him close knowing that he would feel guilty if he wasn't able to place her. It was a lot to put on someone so young. "Commander Phelps, what are you doing to locate them?"

The commander went into a description of their grid pattern search of the area. He explained about how they'd locked down all of the roads in the area and had an all points bulletin out throughout Nevada and the surrounding states. They had done that to be safe but they suspected that they were closer rather than further away.

It hadn't been long after the accident that another car had come along. The occupants said they thought they had seen the men in the sketches leave in a van heading up a dirt road not too far from here. If that's true, then they were still close as the road did not lead out of the area, but into a series of canyons with no outlet. They suspected that they had them in a trap. They just hoped that this 'Juliet' was unaware that she was boxed in. They didn't want her panicking.

xoxo

Once Juliet had left, Laurie then set to cleaning Keith's leg wound. She peeled back the old bandage and noticed fresh blood as she gently pulled the crusted bandage away. It took all of her strength to tear his jeans further open so she could get a good look. Once she was done, she could see a deep cut that was about 3 inches long. She guessed that he must have cut it on some broken glass. She wondered if some was still in there. If it was, infection was sure to set in.

As she worked, Keith started to react to the pain she couldn't help but inflict. He'd started moving restlessly but still hadn't responded to her voice. She wasn't giving up, though.

She kept talking to him quietly and begging him to wake up. Once she'd cleaned and bandaged the leg, she continued to talk to him and began running her hand up and down his arm or brushing his hair back from his face. She hoped that her presence gave him both comfort and a reason to fight to regain consciousness.

The sun was going down when she was finally rewarded by a groan coming from Keith.

"Keith, come on, wake up. You can do it." Laurie cheered him on.

As she touched near the lump on his head, Keith moved his head away and groaned again. "That's it, tell me to stop hurting you." Laurie said as tears sprang to her eyes.

As the tears slowly slipped down her face, Keith's eyes finally started to blink sleepily.

"Laurie?" He whispered. His voice was as rough as hers had been when she'd first woken up.

"It's me. I'm glad you finally decided to join me." She said happily.

"What happened? Where are we?" He asked as his eyes flew around the room.

"That was my reaction too. We're in some old building, I guess." She frowned and continued, "And, as you may have guessed, Juliet has finally caught up with you."

"You're kidding." Keith said in disbelief. His groggy brain not able to comprehend what Laurie was telling him.

"No, she's not kidding." Juliet said from the doorway. "Hello, my love. It's good to see you awake."

Where had he heard that voice before? He tried seeing her, but she stayed in the shadows.

"Who the hell are you?" Keith tried to sit up but his head was spinning.

"I'm your Juliet, my love. Today is the first day of our lives together." Juliet purred.

"Just kill me now." Keith said as he fell back down too weak to stay up.

"Sorry, that's the last thing I would do. Your sister on the other hand – if you don't cooperate, her life may be forfeit. And, I would have no problems killing the bitch right now, so don't tempt me." Juliet said as she left them alone once again.

Keith and Laurie's eyes met in shock.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"Who is she?" Keith asked as his shock began to wear off.

"I have no idea. I've only seen her in disguise or from the back. All I know is that her hair is light brown and that she's not very tall. Didn't you recognize anything about her?" Laurie probed.

"I know I should recognize the voice, but I can't. Not yet, anyway." Keith admitted and started to cough from his scratchy throat. The action caused him to groan in pain.

"What? What's wrong? Are you hurt somewhere other than the bump on your head and your leg?" Laurie asked as she got up to get a glass of water.

"My ribs are killing me." Keith admitted. "Do you remember what happened?"

"Not really. All I remember is that I was sleeping and then I wasn't. A loud bang woke me. When I tried sitting up to see what was happening, the world went all topsy-turvy. I must have hit the back of my head on the window frame and then blacked out. The next thing I remember is this place. You?" Laurie said as she tried to help Keith sit up in order to take a drink.

He groaned again as he sat up enough to take a drink. He quickly plopped back down. Why did he feel as weak as a newborn colt?

"I remember that Johnny and I had just gotten gas and switched places. I was sleeping lightly when I heard the same thing. I had just pushed up enough to try to look out the window when the bus tipped over. I must have hit my head on the bar behind the driver's seat because I can't remember anything after that." Keith tried to recall everything he could about those last few moments. "Man, why do I feel so weak?"

"You've lost quite a bit of blood." Laurie told him.

"What?" Keith's eyes flew to Laurie's in surprise.

"You cut your leg pretty badly on something." Laurie put the glass back on the table and came to sit back on the side of Keith's cot. Keith was trying to get a good look at his leg without sitting up. Laurie smiled at his contortions. "Did you notice that she left pretty quickly after she realized you were awake? It's almost as if she's afraid to actually meet you face to face."

"Why? Isn't that what she's wanted all along?" Keith said in disgust.

"Well, yes and no." As Keith tried cocking an eyebrow at Laurie's non answer, he winced as his bruised forehead protested the action. "I wish I had some ice for you."

"Forget the ice, what did you mean by 'yes and no'." Keith probed.

"Well, think about it. She's built you up to be this perfect person. We all know you're not." Laurie teased.

"Very funny. Could you be serious for once?" Keith deep down appreciated her desire to add some normalcy to their situation.

"Oh, alright, but you're so easy to tease." Laurie attempted a smile. "I think that she's worried that you'll blow all of her dreams out of the water."

"You got that right." Keith agreed wholeheartedly with ruining Juliet's plans.

"Exactly. She needs to figure out a way to make sure that you'll do whatever she wants you to do. A way to make sure that you'll show her the same affection that she has for you." Laurie hypothesized.

"Based on her last comments before leaving the room, she may have already decided on her battle plan." Keith reminded Laurie.

"Right, I was trying to forget about that. I just wish I knew who she was. Apparently I've ticked her off at some point in the past." Laurie rubbed her forehead where a headache was reforming.

"You too, hmmm?" Keith sympathized. "Must run in the family."

"Yeah, well, whatever you did to her caused her to fall madly in love with you, while whatever I did caused a malevolent hatred. The girl doesn't deal in timid feelings, does she? It's all or nothing with her." Laurie continued her psychoanalysis. She just wished she had a better basis for her theories than her one psych class from last school year and a couple of lectures that Rick and Paul Bruner had taken her to.

"Well, Mrs. Dr. Freud, what's the best way to keep her from hurting either one of us?" Keith asked.

"Play along?" Laurie shrugged as she threw it out there for consideration.

"You mean, pretend that I like her?" Keith asked in surprise. "Cause I'm not sure I could do that. The thought of her makes my skin crawl."

"I know, but we have to pacify her long enough to get out of here." Laurie reminded him.

"What's this 'we'? I'm the one who'll have to make the sacrifice of pretending to like her." Keith pointed out.

"I hate to think about what she's capable of if we don't fool her into thinking you really do like her." Laurie cringed at the thought.

"According to her, you'll be the one to pay. Just remember that once we get out of here. You're gonna owe me big time." Keith tried to keep it real yet positive. He didn't want Laurie to lose hope like he already was. He'd tried several times to move his leg, but the pain was intense. He doubted that he'd be able to run for an escape if given the chance. He hated to think about what that might mean for him much less for Laurie.

"We'll check the score once this is all over. Now let me check your ribs before you end up hurting yourself any more. They're probably not fully healed from a few months back when you cracked them with the whole Genny caper. Your life is just way too exciting for me, Keith Partridge. Why couldn't your life be a little more boring?" Laurie kept up a steady stream of conversation while she checked out Keith's rapidly bruising side. Yep, the same side as the last time. He was a walking disaster.

Keith couldn't help but smile a little as his sister covered her nervousness by chastising him. She was too much, was all he could think while she mothered him to help make her forget she couldn't do anything more to get them out of this mess.

xoxo

"They just radioed in that they found a building with a van that matches the description of the culprits sitting outside of it." Commander Phelps said as he walked up to Shirley and Danny who were sitting at a picnic table trying to stay out of the sun yet pick up any breeze that happened by. It sure was hot in Nevada in July. "They're approaching cautiously, but we should have your kids home shortly."

"Oh, thank God." Shirley said as she hugged Danny close.

"Can we go out there?" Danny asked wanting to be in on the action. He also wanted Keith and Laurie to know that he'd been in on their rescue.

"No, we'll wait here." The Commander smiled at the eager young man.

"Danny, it's too dangerous. Besides, they don't need to be worried about us too. Getting Keith and Laurie out safely is all that's important." Shirley reminded him.

"I know Mom. It just would have been cool." Danny tried to hide his disappointment. This would have made a much better story for Punky and the rest of his buddies if he'd been present when the cops entered the building with their guns drawn. Just like in the movies.

The Commander left to go back into the command post just as Reuben drove up in a rental car. He'd had Detective Anderson drive him into the city to pick one up as he hadn't wanted to be dependent on a squad car to take them everywhere. This way they could come and go as they pleased. Not that he thought they were leaving any time soon.

He was also having problems dealing with his guilt. Afterall, he'd talked Shirley into letting Keith go to Albuquerque. If he'd kept his mouth shut, Keith and Laurie would be safe at home.

"Any word?" He said as soon as he walked up.

"They think they've found the building they're hiding out in. We should know something soon. Oh, Reuben, I hope they're alright." Shirley said as Reuben sat down next to her and put his arm around her.

"I'm sure they are Shirl. They're together, right? Neither one would let anything happen to the other." Reuben's comments brought a sad smile to Shirley's face. He'd been her rock in this whole thing.

xoxo

Ten officers quietly converged on the building using whatever cover they could find while they approached the building. They'd only seen the occasional head passing by a window since they'd spotted the place more than a half an hour ago. They all knew what the two Partridge kids looked like and had seen neither of them since they'd been watching. Not that they were overly surprised. The kidnappees didn't usually have the run of the building. They were likely tied up somewhere.

The SWAT team approached as stealthily as they could. They communicated via hand signals and were ready to break the door down. The leader counted down using his fingers and as his hand dropped to signal 'go', two officers holding a battering ram smashed through the door. Once the door was down, two more officers in quick succession entered with weapons at the ready and quickly had two men down on the floor with their hands on the back of their heads.

The rest of the team cleared the remaining rooms in the cabin. No other occupants were found.

"All right, where are they?" The leader barked.

"Who?" The braver of the two shaking men on the floor asked.

"The two kids you helped take from the bus last night?" The leader clarified.

"I don't know what yer talking about." The same man answered.

"Oh really?" The leader came over and put his rifle to the back of his head. "Memory still a little fuzzy or are things starting to come back to you?"

"Alright! Alright! I'll talk! Just take that gun away from my brother's head." The second man blurted.

"Sit up, real slow, like and start talking." The leader instructed.

"Me and my brother here, well, we're a little down on our luck right now and needed a quick cash fix, you know what I mean?" He said as he sat up.

"I don't care to hear your personal history. Where are the kids?" The leader sneered.

"I'm gettin' to that part. We was in this gas station diner when some chick comes up and offers us easy money. All we had ta do was stop a bus and take two people off it. That's all we was paid to do. Honest." He sputtered to a stop.

"Where are the kids you took off the bus?" The leader tried to be patient.

"Don't know." He said but quickly started back up when he saw the leader take a threatening step toward him with his gun butt raised. "There's more! Just give me a sec. We was in our van, but the chick and some other guy followed in another car. We, my brother an' I, got the bus to stop and then we carried the two kids to the car and they drove off. We was instructed to wait 'til we saw another car comin' and then drive up here an' sit tight. She's comin' back with the rest of our money later tonight."

"You really are as dumb as you look, aren't you?" At the crook's stupefied look, the SWAT leader pointed out his flaw, "She isn't coming back to pay you anything, you idiot. She's long gone and you have no idea who she is, do you?"

"She's Juliet something or other…." He trailed off and a look of dawning finally appeared on his face. He looked at his brother who was slowly coming to the same realization. They'd been duped and badly. Not only were they not going to be paid for the job, but they were likely going to jail for aiding and abetting in a crime. "Wait, if we give you a good description of her will you let us go?"

"We'll put a good word in with the judge, but you aren't going anywhere any time soon." The leader pointed out.

"How come you didn't see this one comin'?" The one brother said to the other.

"Me? Why didn't you? I'm not the one known for bein' smart." The other one said.

The SWAT leader just rolled his eyes at the two buffoons who were arguing about which one was supposed to be the smart one in the family. In his estimation, both had forgotten to get in line when the good Lord was handing out intelligence.

xoxo

Commander Phelps was not looking forward to this conversation, but it had to be done. He headed toward the three people huddled together trying to draw comfort from each other. He was going to have to find a way to break it to them gently.

"Mrs. Partridge, Mr. Kincaid, we just heard from the tac team. They apprehended the two men who were involved in carrying Keith and Laurie from the bus. Mr. Burnhardt has given positive ID's on both of them. We drove him out there once he was done at the hospital." Phelps said and then paused before beginning the hard part. "Mrs. Partridge, they weren't there."

"What? I don't understand." Shirley said trying to follow what he was saying. If they'd apprehended the two men, then where were Keith and Laurie?

"Apparently, this Juliet person is very intelligent. She sent the two accomplices off into the desert as a decoy. She'd already left the area before the witnesses came upon the accident scene. Their job was to draw us away from the direction that she and another accomplice had taken earlier." Phelps admitted with difficulty. He'd been fooled by a teenage female, if all the descriptions were correct.

"So where are Keith and Laurie?" Shirley asked while she held down her panic with a will of steel.

"We don't know." Phelps reluctantly said.

"You don't know!" Danny screamed. "You go off on a wild goose chase and now my brother and sister could be anywhere. They could be in another country or on another planet for all you know!"

"Danny, calm down." Shirley wanted to scream the same things, but she knew it wouldn't do any good.

"Mom, you can't be serious. They screwed up! What if Keith and Laurie can't be found?" Danny was frantic with worry.

"Danny, it's alright. I'm scared too, but we're going to find them. You believe me don't you?" Shirley asked as she grabbed him and pulled him into a hug.

"I want to Mom, I really do. But I'm scared. Who will I torment if they don't come back? Who will I talk to about girls if they don't come back?" Danny was losing steam, but was crying now instead of angry. "At least with Keith to teach me about dating, I'd have had a chance, Mom. Without him, I'll end up old and alone."

"Danny." Shirley said with tears in her eyes but a smile on her face at her son's silly reasons for missing his brother and sister. "We're not giving up hope. Right, Commander?"

"That's correct, Mrs. Partridge. We've only been thrown off the scent for a short time. We know that they headed back toward Las Vegas and will get a new APB out. I'm sure we'll have a lead before too long. Come on, we're moving our command post into the home office." The Commander began leading them toward their rental car. "It'll be much more comfortable. There's air conditioning for one and there are real facilities for another."

Commander Phelps kept talking until they got to the car trying to get their minds off their missing loved ones and onto creature comforts.

"Just follow the squad car. I'll be right behind you." Phelps said as he closed the car door behind Shirley.

xoxo

Keith and Laurie sat side by side on Keith's cot with their arms linked and their backs against the wall. They'd been quietly discussing possible ways of escape all the while knowing that Keith would never be physically able to act on any of them.

Keith was still struggling to stay alert as he had hit his head much harder than Laurie had. Laurie would gently nudge him in his uninjured side when he began to drift off. She was not only afraid that if he lost consciousness again he might never regain it, but she wanted the company more than anything. Without him talking to her, the panic and terror could set in. Just hearing his voice was comforting.

They didn't move when they heard the key in the door. They waited patiently as the door slowly opened. The sun was setting and it was getting dark so it was hard to see much more than shadows. They were surprised to see the shadow of a larger person than Juliet enter the room. Laurie felt Keith stiffen. Keith knew it was a man who entered by his size alone. Was he a threat to Laurie? Who was he to Juliet? Could he be bribed? Not that they had much on them, but the family could get a sizable amount of money if they needed to. Could they talk this guy into ransoming them instead of simply holding them?

Neither of them were about to do anything stupid, so they simply sat there and waited to see what he would do. As he got closer they noticed that he had covered his face too. They glanced at each other and shared a look that said, 'so, we must know who this guy is too'. Who the hell were Juliet and now this guy? It sure would help if they knew not only what they were up against, but who.

"How are the two of you doing?" The man said in a gruff voice. A voice that he had obviously gone out of his way to disguise. They both looked hard at the shadowy figure.

"Just peachy." Laurie said bravely.

"Good to hear it." The man said as he watched Laurie closely.

Keith tensed even more at the guy's reaction to Laurie. He sure hoped the guy didn't have anything against Laurie. At least nothing as bad as Juliet. He sure as hell didn't want Laurie alone with Juliet and now he'd have to be on guard against another foe.

"Where's Juliet?" Keith asked to pull the man's attention away from Laurie.

"Who? Oh, you mean...she went out to get something to eat." The guy said without thinking.

That answer told Keith a lot. She felt comfortable being out and about, wherever they were. And, if he wasn't mistaken, this guy had almost slipped and used Juliet's real name. Keith thought about trying to keep him talking to see if he slipped again, but he didn't like the way he was watching Laurie. Getting him out of the room seemed more important at the moment.

The man continued to stare at Laurie with an unreadable but intense expression in his eyes. What did it mean? He obviously had a history with them too. Why couldn't they place either of them?

Keith felt Laurie's fingernails dig into his forearm as she began to squirm under the intense regard.

Laurie tossed her head and returned his look bravely. Keith almost wished she'd just meekly look away to break the tension in the room. But, that just wasn't Laurie. She always met things head-on. She didn't know what backing down meant. She always stood up for the underdog and in this case she was the underdog.

After several minutes, the guy dropped his gaze and then turned to leave. He flipped on an overhead light before he walked out, locking the door behind him. The light illuminated the cots, but left the area by the door in shadows.

"Wow, you sure do have a strange effect on people lately; first Juliet now this guy. Did he look familiar to you?" Keith asked Laurie as soon as he was gone.

"Sort of, but I couldn't see enough of his face to place him. His eyes looked familiar." Laurie said as she replayed the scene in her mind. "I must know him."

"What'd you make of his watching you so closely?" Keith asked.

"I'm not sure. It was as if he wanted me to remember him." Laurie said.

"Yeah, I got that feeling too." Keith agreed.

"I just wish he hadn't stayed so far back in the shadows. I think I might have had a chance at recognizing him." Laurie was still lost in her memories trying to place him.

"Well, then maybe you should have tried flirting instead of trying to put him off." Keith suggested.

"Flirt with someone who's trying to hurt us? No way." Laurie said.

"It's what you're asking me to do." Keith reminded her bluntly.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

A short time later, Juliet walked into the room with a sack of food from a fast food restaurant. The name on the bag was no help, there was one practically on every corner. It was no help in trying to figure out where they were being held.

"Here you go, my dear. Dinner is served." Juliet said as she set the bag down on the table. "I guess you can have some too." She sneered as an afterthought to Laurie.

Keith and Laurie just sat on the cot and looked at her. Not quite sure if they wanted to take the offering of food.

"Oh, come on. I know you're hungry. You haven't eaten since yesterday at 6:30." Juliet said.

"And, how would you know that?" Keith said before realizing that she must have been following them since they left Albuquerque. "Forget it. I know how."

"You are such a smart man. Isn't he?" Juliet said proudly, as if she had something to do with it.

"He's a real Albert Einstein." Laurie said sarcastically.

"Listen, miss high and mighty, you talk nicely about my love or I'll make sure you don't talk at all." Juliet quickly leapt to Keith's defense.

"Hey, now. She didn't mean anything by it. It's just a normal bit of sisterly teasing." Keith immediately sat forward to put himself between Laurie and Juliet.

"Well, she better think twice about putting you down in front of me." Juliet hissed.

"Don't worry. She'll be nothing but nice from now on. Right, Laurie?" Keith assured her without taking his eyes off of Juliet. She was standing in the shadows, but Keith was pretty sure she wasn't disguised for once. At least he didn't notice anything obvious.

"Right. I'll be the model of decorum." Laurie assured her quickly. The last thing they needed was Juliet to get so mad at Laurie that she ended up hurting her before she had a chance to escape.

"You just do that." Juliet relaxed a little. "So, why don't you eat?"

"I can't reach the food." Keith motioned to his leg. He was hoping she would step more fully into the light. He was sure that if he could just get a little better look at her that he'd recognize her.

"Oh, how silly of me." Juliet went from cold calculating mastermind to flustered female in the blink of an eye. It was quite obvious that Keith had a very strong effect on her emotions.

Unfortunately for Keith and Laurie she regained her composure before stepping into the light. She pulled a hood up over her head and stepped forward to set the bag of food on Keith's cot. She moved quickly out of his reach in case he had planned to try to grab her and pull down her hood.

She didn't bother sticking around to see if they would eat, but left the room trying to recover from her embarrassment. He was the only person in the world who could turn her into a blithering idiot.

xoxo

Keith grabbed the bag and sat back to take a look at what was inside. He pulled out burgers and fries. Keith's stomach growled as if on cue. Laurie smiled when she heard it. Keith's growling stomach had become almost predictable lately.

"Well, I was going to say maybe we shouldn't eat because it might be poisoned, but we do need to keep our strength up. Besides, your stomach has already placed a 'yes' vote for eating." Laurie smiled, her own stomach moments from growling.

"Well, I don't think she took me hostage just to kill me. So, the food is probably alright." Keith pointed out.

"Well, if 'probably alright' is good enough for you, it's good enough for me. Let's dig in." Laurie said as she grabbed one of the burgers.

They ate hungrily and in silence for several minutes.

"It's not as good as Mom's or even Reuben's, but in a pinch…." Keith said after several bites.

"Oh, couldn't you go for Mom's killer spaghetti and meatballs right now?" Laurie fantasized.

"Poor choice of words, but I get your point." Keith bumped his shoulder into Laurie's. "I'd even happily put up with Danny right about now."

"Ha, you really are homesick if you'd choose Danny over our current palatial accommodations." Laurie said as she motioned around the dirty, dank interior.

Keith smiled and noticed Laurie hiding a yawn behind her hand. "Food making you tired?"

"Guess so. I can't seem to keep my eyes open." Laurie said as she fought the urge to close her eyes.

"Yeah, I'm getting a little sleepy myself." Keith agreed.

"Oh no!" Laurie said as realization struck. "The food wasn't poisoned, but it was drugged."

"Why didn't we think of that?" Keith said as Laurie wilted onto his shoulder fast asleep.

Keith, only moments from sleep himself, had one last thought; escape would have to wait.

xoxo

"Mrs. Partridge, I'm so sorry." Johnny said as soon as he saw Shirley at the police station.

"Oh, Johnny, it wasn't your fault. I should have known that Keith and Laurie wouldn't be safe away from home." Shirley comforted him immediately. Besides how could she blame him when everything inside of her said she should never have let her children out of her sight?

"Hey, Johnny, sit down before you fall down." Reuben instructed as he walked up, grabbed Johnny's extended left hand in an awkward shake and led him to a chair. "How are you?"

Reuben's eyes scanned Johnny for injuries and knew that there must be several he couldn't see. It was obvious that his arm was in a sling, but he'd also been limping as he walked up.

"I've got a broken collar bone, a slight concussion and some stitches in my leg. But none of that's important. Finding Keith and Laurie is the only thing that matters." Johnny said and noticed Danny standing a short distance away. "Hey, kid. How you holding up?"

"I'm fine Mr. Burnhardt. So, how many stitches did you get?" Danny asked, fascinated at the mention of stitches.

"The doctor said forty, but who's counting?" Johnny winced at the thought.

"Wow! Forty, that's more than ten times the number I had put in my knee when I fell off my bike. Does it hurt?" Danny's eyes were huge.

"Naw, they gave me a shot for the pain." Johnny said though the adults knew that it must be wearing off by now. Besides, he'd been unable to hide several winces of pain since he'd walked into the room. He should likely still be at the hospital but had signed himself out to help with the search. He felt too guilty to sit back and recover while Keith and Laurie were missing.

"Johnny, why don't you go to the hotel and get some rest. There's nothing happening here for now." Reuben suggested knowing it would be best for the man to speed his recovery.

"No can do, Mr. Kincaid. I won't be resting until Keith and Laurie are safely back where they belong; with their Mother and brother." Johnny said as he smiled at Shirley and Danny.

"Thank you, Johnny. The police told us that you said Keith and Laurie were unconscious when they were taken. Can you tell me anything else?" Shirley asked needing to know that her kids were alright, at least the last time Johnny had seen them.

"They were both out cold, but alive, Mrs. Partridge. I'm sure they're going to be fine." Johnny knew he might possibly be lying, but couldn't help but try to make Shirley feel better.

Shirley sent him a trembling smile. She too knew that he had no way of knowing that his last sentence was true, but it helped to hear the person who had seen them last tell her they were going to be ok.

xoxo

"Olivia, I really think we need to let them go." The man said as he looked at the sleeping brother and sister in front of him.

"Not in this lifetime." Olivia said as she approached the sleeping pair. Even in sleep they stuck together. If they weren't brother and sister, Olivia would have been jealous. Laurie's head rested lightly on her brother's shoulder and Keith's head had tilted slightly so that his head was resting on hers. If she weren't so envious of Laurie, she might have thought it cute.

"Livvie, come on. They're famous people. They aren't going to stop searching for them – ever." He pointed out.

"I don't plan on having to keep them locked up forever, you know. Just long enough to win Keith's heart." Olivia said as she sat down next to Keith. "Isn't he cute when he sleeps? Look at how long his lashes are."

"Livvie will you be serious? I only agreed to do this because you told me it would give me a chance to pay Laurie back for tearing my rotator cuff on our date. She needed to find out that she not only ended my football career for the rest of high school, but she ended up costing me a college scholarship too." He moved closer himself.

"Lester, she hasn't paid nearly enough. Did you just hear yourself list her sins? She needs to suffer for a longer stretch of time than just a day." Olivia said as she ran her fingers through Keith's hair. He was so deeply asleep that he didn't even move when she got a finger stuck in a snarl. She'd have to get him a comb she thought. His hair had gotten so much longer than when she'd first met him.

"Olivia Rose Braddock, will you be serious?" Lester said.

"Oh, dear brother, I am dead serious." Olivia said and looked at him her eyes glowing with madness.

Lester took an involuntary step back. He knew that she had had some mental problems in the past, but their aunt had gotten her committed to a sanitarium in Switzerland and the doctors had pronounced her cured. That's why she was home. His aunt had written him a letter telling him so and asking him to meet her at the airport. She was coming to the family estate to live once again. Aunt Millie was supposed to have come back herself by now, but something must have come up.

Come to think of it, she hadn't written since Olivia had been back either.

"Livvie, don't you think it's strange that Aunt Millie hasn't come back from Europe yet? She said she was going to be here by July and it's almost August. Have you talked to her?" Lester asked as he watched his sister watch Keith.

"Lester, for Pete's sake, she's an adult. She can come and go as she pleases. Besides that, we're both adults too. We have full access to our trust funds now. What do we need her around for? She'd just cramp our style." Olivia said over her shoulder.

'Yeah' Lester thought, 'like their current style couldn't use a little cramping.' He was starting to regret letting Olivia talk him into this.

"Sleep tight my love." Olivia said as she leaned forward to kiss Keith lightly on his slightly parted lips. "Well, now that we're sure they can't try to escape, we can get some sleep. Come on Lester let's go."

xoxo

"Reuben, why don't you take Danny back to the hotel to get some sleep? I'll stay here with Johnny and wait for more news." Shirley suggested noticing Danny nodding off in a chair.

"Sure, I suppose I can do that." Reuben said even though he was reluctant to leave Shirley here by herself. At least she had Johnny with her. "Come on Danny, let's go back to the hotel to get some sleep."

"What? Alright." Danny said as he wiped the sleep from his eyes. "Mom? Aren't you coming with us?"

"No, Danny. I'm going to stay here. That way I can call you if anything happens." Shirley said gently as she pulled her son out of the chair and gave him a quick hug. "Get some sleep and I'll see you in the morning."

"I want to stay with you." Danny protested.

"I know you do sweetheart. But, I need to know that you're being taken care of. I only have so much worry in me and all of it is being used up by your brother and sister." Shirley explained.

Danny nodded at his mother's simple reasoning. To his tired mind it made all the sense in the world. He sleepily walked out of the room with Reuben.

As they walked out of the front doors of the police station, they saw the family bus being towed past them.

"Hey, Mr. Kincaid. Look, it's our bus." Danny said as he pointed out the sight that had already caught Reuben's attention. "Wonder where they're taking it?"

"Probably to the impound lot." Reuben said as the tow truck slowed and pulled in next to the building. They both watched as the winch was lowered and the bus settled back onto its front tires. Once lowered fully, it tilted at a crazy angle due to the blown out tire.

"Nope, they're taking it here. Can we go look at it? I wonder how badly it's damaged." Danny said once again wide awake. Without waiting for Reuben's approval, Danny took off like a shot and ran to the side of the bus.

"Danny! Wait up." Reuben shouted as he walked fast trying to catch up to him.

"Holy cow. Will you look at that?" Danny said as he rounded the bus to see the side scraped badly, but hardly dented. Looking higher, Danny noticed several broken windows.

"It doesn't look as bad as I thought it would." Reuben said as he finally rounded the back of the bus.

"But look, our name is all scraped up. It's going to take a lot of money to fix it, isn't it?" Danny said as he put his hand out to brush some dirt off the paint.

"Probably." Reuben said as he tried to picture the bus on its side with Keith and Laurie unconscious inside.

Danny once again took off at a run, pushed the side door open and rushed inside.

"Danny, get out of there. There's probably broken glass. You'll get hurt." Reuben said as he rushed in behind him. If anything happened to Danny, Shirley would never forgive him.

"Look at all the blood." Danny said in awe as he looked at the right side of the bus above the seats. "Wonder whose it is?"

"Well, according to Johnny's description of where everyone was at the time of the accident, I would guess that this is Johnny's." Reuben said as he looked at the blood right by the door.

Danny swallowed hard as his eyes moved slightly back from the door. "This must be Keith's." He whispered. "Reuben, there's way too much here. Keith had to have been hurt pretty bad. Right?"

"First of all, we don't know that all of that is Keith's. And besides that, Johnny said he hit his head. Head wounds usually bleed a lot." Reuben pointed out. "I'm sure he's fine."

Reuben said the words even though he didn't really believe them himself. Danny's fears were his too. No one could lose that much blood and survive without help from a doctor. Besides that, it was likely that not all of the blood lost by the bus victims was still in the bus. With all the broken windows, it was likely that some blood had gone directly into the ground. God, were the kids still alive?

Danny walked down the aisle as Reuben continued to stare at the blood markings on the side of the bus. "This must be where Laurie was." Danny said as he looked down to see her jacket lying on the floor of the bus. "She usually balls it up and uses it as a pillow."

Danny's comments drew Reuben's morbid fascination away from the blood markings and pulled him further into the bus.

"There's no blood here. Laurie must be alright." Danny said with a big smile on his face.

"That's good." Reuben agreed. Except for the fact that she was being held hostage by a madwoman, Reuben added inside his head.

"Hey, what are you two doing in here?" A police officer said as he poked his head in the door.

"Oh, sorry. This is Danny Partridge and I'm Reuben Kincaid, the Family's manager. We were just checking out the damage." Reuben said quickly as he grabbed Danny's arm and headed off the bus.

"You didn't touch anything, did you?" The officer asked.

"No, we were just looking." Danny told him.

"Well, I guess that's alright then. But, you better come out now. This is still evidence though they likely have everything they need already." The officer backed away so that Reuben and Danny could exit the bus. "Hey, Harvey, get this thing behind the gate will ya? We were lucky this time. Next time it might be reporters or something."

Danny and Reuben watched as the bus was lifted back up and pulled through the impound gate and into a large garage out of sight. The sight of the disappearing bus depressed them both.

"Come on kid, let's go to the hotel and get some sleep." Reuben said as he steered Danny toward the rental car.

xoxo

Keith and Laurie woke up slowly the next morning. Laurie began blinking sleep from her eyes when she realized that her neck was stiff. She tried raising her head only to feel a weight holding it down. She realized that she was resting on Keith's shoulder and that his head was resting on hers. She gently pushed him up so that she could move her neck which was telling her to move and soon.

Her movements caused Keith to moan lightly in his sleep as his slightly tilted neck protested the change in position as well.

Laurie glanced around the room to notice that sunlight was lightening the room through the one crack in the boarded up window. They had slept the night away.

She stiffly moved to the bathroom and came back out feeling much better. She'd splashed water on her face trying to get the last of the drug out of her system. They needed to be alert and ready to make a break for it at any opportunity. They'd have to consider avoiding food too.

As she reentered the room, she noticed that Keith was starting to wake up. He blinked at her smiling face sleepily and then tried shifting himself to a more comfortable position. The motion caused his leg to protest and he groaned in pain as his hand went down to hold the area.

"How bad does it hurt?" Laurie asked seeing his reaction.

"It's on fire." Keith said as he shifted again but more gingerly this time, trying to get comfortable. "Can you help me up?"

"Sure, why?" Laurie came over quickly before he started the wound bleeding again.

Keith glanced meaningfully at the door she had just come through and Laurie smiled her understanding.

It took them several minutes to get him to a standing position, but it was quite obvious that he wasn't going to be able to put any weight on his leg. Laurie switched sides and walked him slowly to the door as he hopped on his good leg. Every hop brought pain, but he needed to get the bathroom, so they struggled on.

"I got it from here." He said as they reached the door.

"Alright, just don't go falling over in there." Laurie teased.

"I don't plan on it." Keith assured her as he closed the door on her grin.

Laurie walked away to give him some privacy but stayed standing so that she could rush over when the door reopened. She waited longer than she thought it should have taken and was just about to knock when Keith finally opened the door.

"What took you so long?" Laurie asked worriedly.

"Don't ask." Keith said as he waited for her to put her shoulder under his arm.

They began the painstaking trek back across the room. When they were a few short feet from the cot, the outer door opened. They spun quickly to see who it was and almost lost their balance. They almost lost it again when they got a good look at the person who had walked in the door.

"Lester Braddock?" Laurie said in surprise.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

"Oh my god! Juliet is Olivia!" Keith said as realization finally set in. "I finally placed the voice."

"Crazy Juliet is Lester's sister?" Laurie asked.

"She most certainly is." Keith said as he swayed slightly on his feet.

"What are you two talking about?" Lester said as he realized his mistake. He had thought they'd still be sleeping. "Who is crazy Juliet?"

"Your sister." Laurie said with disgust.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Lester said as he looked at the shocked brother and sister standing in front of him.

"Keith, you better sit down before you fall down." Laurie said as she struggled to hold his swaying body upright. "Come on, just a couple more hops."

As soon as she had Keith settled, she looked back at Lester. "You have no idea what your sister is capable of, do you?"

"What do you mean?" Lester asked still baffled.

"Lester, Olivia has been stalking Keith for a couple of years. Over the past couple of months, she's been in every city we've performed. It's even possible that she killed Keith's girlfriend to get her out of the way." Laurie told him.

"You're nuts if you think that Olivia could kill anyone." Lester defended his sister. She had her problems, but she was not capable of murder. Was she?

"Lester, I'm not lying to you. She wrote a note to Keith telling him what she had done. You have to help us get out of here." Laurie said thinking that Lester's surprise would run in their favor.

"Well, well, well, look who's up." Juliet, no wait it was now Olivia, said from the door. "Lester, how could you be so foolish as to walk in without a disguise on?"

"Sorry, sis. I thought they'd still be asleep." Lester looked down at the floor embarrassed by his mistake.

"Oh well, I was planning on telling them sooner or later. Good morning, my love. You're looking wonderful." Olivia said as she looked at Keith who had yet to say much of anything.

He was in complete shock. Who'd have thought that the smart, pretty girl who had asked him out almost three years ago had been tormenting him for almost as long? He'd been too embarrassed by how he'd followed Laurie and Lester on their date to accept her invitation. His rejection of her had caused all of this? It just didn't add up.

Laurie looked at Keith and could not agree with Olivia's assessment. Keith looked flushed, exhausted and downright awful.

"Olivia, Keith needs a doctor. He's flushed and running a fever." She knew that because the heat was coming off his body in waves. It had kept her warm last night, but she'd noticed it again this morning in helping him to and from the bathroom.

"Don't you dare use my name!" Olivia hissed at Laurie. "You may continue to call me Juliet or better yet, don't talk to me at all."

Lester looked at his sister as if she'd grown another head. "Olivia, what's going on here? I'm starting to realize that this was not a spur of the moment payback for three years ago. You've been planning this for some time, haven't you?"

"Outside." Olivia glared at her brother. "Now!" She added when he didn't move fast enough. There was no way she was discussing anything in front of Keith and Laurie. Apparently she hadn't gotten back quick enough. The little Jezebel had already had a chance to poison her brother's mind against her.

As the door slammed behind an angry Olivia and her bewildered brother, Laurie plopped down next to Keith.

"Olivia Braddock? I can't believe it." Laurie said in awe.

She looked at Keith who was just staring at the door in shock.

"Keith?" Laurie pulled his face toward hers to break his concentration on the door. As she watched his eyes refocus on her face with difficulty, she realized that his reactions were slow not only from shock but from a high fever. Her fingers felt the heat of his face.

"I can't believe it." Keith whispered. "She was so quiet and sweet. What changed?"

"Apparently a lot." Laurie pointed out helpfully. "Keith I better take another look at your leg. You are definitely running a fever."

"I can tell you even before looking at it that it's infected. It's hot and very sore." Keith told her.

"Well, let's get some more antiseptic on it and put a fresh bandage on. I know there's enough in this kit for at least one more treatment." Laurie said as she brought it over from the table. "Alright, slide back so I can work on this."

Keith did as she requested and winced as she gently pulled the bandage away from the deep cut. The cut was oozing puss and the area was very red. Keith swallowed hard as he tried to hold down the water he'd drank a short time before. It looked downright nasty.

"I don't like the look of this." Laurie murmured as she peered down at the angry laceration.

"Hold on, this is going to sting." She warned just before pouring some antiseptic on the cut.

Keith's breath hissed past his clenched teeth as he felt the antiseptic enter the wound.

"I'm sorry." Laurie looked up at him in sympathy. "I have to do it again. I didn't get enough in there."

Keith just nodded his ascent and closed his eyes. He didn't have to watch it, did he?

xoxo

Reuben and Danny were back at the police station by 7:00 am. Reuben had tried getting Danny to wait and have some breakfast, but he'd suggested picking something up on their way so that they could take something to Mom too. Reuben had to admit it was a smart idea. He was certain Shirley had not only stayed up all night but she hadn't once thought of eating either.

They walked in with a bag of steaming breakfast food. Johnny and Shirley, both looking exhausted, sat quietly at a table.

"Any word?" Reuben asked as he set the bag on the table.

"No, nothing." Shirley answered quietly.

"We brought you some breakfast." Danny said as he opened the bag and started pulling out the styrofoam containers. "We have scrambled eggs, pancakes or waffles. What'll it be?"

"I'm not very hungry." Shirley sent a sad smile in Danny's direction.

"Well you have to eat. Right, Mr. Kincaid? She has to eat." Danny looked at Reuben for support.

"He's right Shirley. You need to keep up your strength. So eat something. Even if it's only a little." Reuben urged.

"Alright, I'll try some of the eggs. How does that sound?" Shirley agreed without enthusiasm.

Danny gave her the correct container and looked at Johnny. "What about you Mr. Burnhardt?"

"Whatever you don't want Danny, will be fine." Johnny smiled at him tiredly.

Danny finished handing out the containers and set to eating his waffles. He watched his mother pick at her eggs and mostly just push the food around. He didn't say anything because he knew it wouldn't matter, but he was really worried about her. He felt much better after having slept last night even if he'd had a couple of nightmares.

As they finished up, the door opened to admit Detective Anderson. "They've got a new lead."

"Really? What?" Shirley asked as she jumped up and rushed over to him.

"They finally got the two brothers to give them a description of the car that Juliet left in. They'd been withholding it in hopes of using it as a bargaining chip. The DA finally agreed to let them plead down to intent to cause bodily injury instead of kidnapping and that's when they finally gave the description. This is big." Detective Anderson assured them.

"But still no word on where they are?" Shirley asked hope shining in her eyes.

"Not yet, but once this gets out on the wire, we're sure to have something soon." Detective Anderson assured her.

"That's great news. Right, Mom?" Danny asked as he grabbed his Mom's hand and beamed up at her.

"Yes, Danny, it is." Shirley smiled down at her son and pulled him into a hug. Her smile fell away as soon as he wasn't looking at her. She was having trouble holding onto her own hope this morning.

xoxo

Laurie and Keith sat and listened to the argument taking place on the other side of the door. It was obvious that Lester had no idea what Olivia had been up to for the last couple of years. He had only recently been talked into helping with the abduction and then only as a short term payback for Laurie having torn his rotator cuff on their second and last date.

They heard Lester say something unintelligible and then heard a car engine leaving the area. They were alone with Olivia.

This was their chance.

xoxo

"They found the car." Detective Anderson came in to inform them.

"Where?" Four voices said in unison as they all turned to the door.

"It's at a diner off the highway in the warehouse district. They're going to move in as soon as the person heads back to the car. They didn't see who drove up in it and they know that Juliet is a master of disguises. They're going to wait until she leaves to make sure they have the right person. This could all be over shortly." Detective Anderson said with a smile.

"That's great news!" Reuben said as he smiled broadly at the detective. He was about to get two very important cogs to his surrogate family back. He couldn't hide his relief.

Shirley sat down quickly almost afraid to hope. She felt light headed with relief yet scared beyond belief that this would be another dead end.

"Mom, are you alright?" Danny quickly moved to her side.

"I will be very soon, Danny. Very soon." She smiled hopefully at him trying very hard to let her hope win out over her skepticism.

xoxo

The LVPD Swat team was once again sneaking into position. They were waiting for the driver of the car that was used to kidnap Keith and Laurie to exit the diner. The kidnappers had been away from the vehicle for well over two hours already. They were getting impatient. What if the car had just been left here to throw them off the scent?

The leader was just starting to go over his options in his head when they saw someone approach the vehicle. They were surprised to see a young man unlock the door and get in with a large bag of what they suspected was food. The leader, expecting 'Juliet' to be with him, paused longer than he should have.

The car was pulling away when he signaled his men to step out and stop the vehicle. The driver saw the first officer step out with his weapon raised and he panicked. He floored the accelerator and headed directly toward him. The officer, instead of shooting, dove out of the way. They'd been instructed to take the perpetrators alive so that they could interrogate them and find out where Keith and Laurie were being held.

These instructions allowed Lester to make it out of the parking lot and onto the highway before several LVPD squad cars could begin the chase. The cars raced along at over 100 miles per hour. Lester had been thinking enough to lead them away from Olivia, because even though he was mad at her for withholding so much information from him, she was still his sister. He would do anything to protect her; including leading the police away from her.

xoxo

Keith was beginning to become very weak and lightheaded, but he didn't want Laurie to realize it. They needed to put their plan into action and if she thought he couldn't hold up his end of the bargain, she'd back out for sure. There was no way she'd leave him behind if she knew how bad off he really was.

As soon as the argument had ended between Lester and Olivia, Keith and Laurie had headed back into the bathroom. They'd discovered an air vent that Laurie could squeeze into. She was to follow it as far as she could and find a way out. In the meantime, Keith would cover for her and distract Olivia.

If all went as planned, Laurie would be free in a short time and she would bring back help. Keith just hoped he could stay awake long enough to distract Olivia.

He used up most of the rest of his strength helping Laurie get herself up into the air shaft. He watched her pull it closed behind her and leaned against the wall to gather his strength for the trip back to the cots.

"Keith, are you sure you're alright?" Laurie whispered from the air vent. She was obviously still watching him rather than crawling her way towards freedom.

"Will you just go!" Keith whispered back. He'd have waved an arm at her, but he was pretty sure the motion would have sent him toppling to the ground.

"Not until I know you're ok." Laurie argued.

"Look, I'll be much better once we're out of here. And, the only way that's going to happen is if you go and get help. So go!" Keith said again and pushed himself away from the wall. He slowly hopped to the door and opened it to reenter the other room. He closed it firmly behind him and rested against the wall once on the other side. He listened carefully and within a few seconds could hear the slight scraping sound of Laurie pulling herself along the venting high overhead. 'Good,' he thought 'she's finally moving.'

Now they just had to hope that the quiet sounds of her moving overhead would be masked by something, anything. Because if Olivia suspected she was up there, who knew what would happen.

Laurie felt her way slowly along the vent system. It was actually quite roomy. She shouldn't have been surprised. This wasn't her first foray into the air system of a building.

She smiled quickly in memory of the time that she, Keith and Danny had broken into the school newspaper office trying to 'liberate' her diary from Marvin. She'd use that previous experience to her benefit this time. Not only did she need to be very careful to be quiet, but she also needed to make sure that any grates she kicked out would allow her to exit the duct system. She didn't want to have to drop 10 feet to the ground. A soft landing was definitely preferable.

She knew she needed to hurry. Though Keith had tried to hide it, she knew that the infection was wreaking havoc on his body. He was running a high fever and was likely pretty weak even though he'd lifted her up into the duct system. On that thought, she forged forward into the dark unknown and pushed thoughts of spiders and other creepy crawling critters from her mind.

She crawled for a few minutes when she finally noticed light ahead. She made a beeline for the light and peaked out to see what it revealed. She was a good 10 feet above the ground and there was nothing near for her to use as a ladder to get down but she did take the opportunity to check out the new room that she could see. It appeared that Olivia was holding them in the office of a large warehouse. There were boxes and crates all over the place, but none close enough to where she was currently looking down on the scene.

A movement to her left pulled her eyes in that direction. She saw Olivia sitting in an old chair and looking through what looked to be a photo album. Laurie could only guess that it was pictures of Keith. What else could it be, right?

She also noticed that Olivia had headphones on. She followed the chord to a record player that was just to Olivia's right. Propped against the table were several albums. The one in front was their latest release. 'What a surprise?' Laurie thought.

Well, at least she didn't have to worry too much about making noise. She decided to take advantage of the opportunity and pushed forward once again.

This time when she finally saw light once again, she was directly over a bunch of boxes and crates. She'd only have to lower herself from the opening and drop a short distance. She just hoped the boxes were strong enough to hold her weight. If not, she would bring the whole thing down with a crash that even headphones couldn't muffle.

She was tired, but fear and determination gave her the strength to force the grate open. It gave with a bit of a creak, but didn't go crashing to the ground like Laurie first feared it might. It dangled from its hinge.

Laurie stuck her head out slightly trying once again to locate Olivia. Luck was on her side, she still had the headphones on and she was behind her. So long as Olivia didn't turn around, the dangling grate wouldn't be like a red cape to a bull. She knew she needed to move fast. Who knew how long her good luck would hold?

Just as she was about to pull her head back in and turn around to begin lowering herself down, she noticed that Olivia had taken off the headphones. She moved to the record player and pulled the arm of the player back to the rest. 'Darn the record was over', was all Laurie could think. What's she going to do next?

Laurie grabbed the grate and pulled it back to a closed position, holding it there and hoping that her fingers wouldn't be noticed 10 feet above the ground. After that, she froze so that she wouldn't make any sound. Without the headphones to mask it, who knew how sound would travel in this big old building.

Olivia talked quietly to herself and checked her watch several times but not once did she move to put the headphones back on. Laurie's fingers were cramping from holding the grate in place. If Olivia didn't do something soon, she was worried that she might drop the grate back open and draw Olivia's attention to her attempted escape.

Just before she thought she had lost the battle to hold onto the grate, she noticed Olivia pick up a set of keys and head toward the office where she and Keith had been locked for almost two days. Laurie wasted no time in wiggling her way around and dropping to the boxes below her. They held. She blew out the breath she'd been holding and began immediately to climb down. By the time she reached the bottom, her legs were shaking – badly.

She was tired, scared and all she really wanted to do was sit down and cry. She did allow herself to sit down for exactly 5 seconds. She used that time to not only feel sorry for herself but to look around her immediate vicinity for an exit. She had a brother who needed to be rescued, and fast, if the infection raging through his leg was half as bad as she suspected.

She spotted a door and pushed herself up. She walked quickly toward what she hoped was freedom.

xoxo

"How are you feeling?" Olivia said with sympathy as she walked into the room and immediately sought out Keith.

"Who me? Just peachy." Keith said sarcastically.

"Well, you look wonderful to me, but then again you always do." Olivia said as she walked closer. She felt relatively safe as it was quite obvious that Keith was pretty weak. He hadn't even pushed himself up from his half slouch against the wall. He'd barely opened his eyes when she'd walked in. Was he sicker than she thought? Had the heartless bitch who called herself his sister been right when she'd said he needed a doctor? Speaking of the heartless bitch, where was she?

"Where's your sister?" Olivia asked as her eyes flew around the room.

"She's in the bathroom. I think she's tossing up her cookies." Keith said as he waved a vague hand in that direction.

"Oh really? How awful for her." Olivia said with a smirk on her face. Any discomfort suffered by Laurie Partridge was pure pleasure to Olivia.

"You look devastated." Keith said with sarcasm.

"Well, it's no secret that I'm not particularly fond of her. You, on the other hand…" Olivia smiled sweetly.

Keith just rolled his eyes and let them fall closed again. He was supposed to be distracting Olivia, but he was having a hard time remaining conscious. He felt like he was drifting between sleep and wakefulness. He was almost afraid to talk as he didn't know if he could control what he said. He couldn't risk giving Laurie away.

"Keith? Keith!" Olivia said in concern as she sat down next to him. "My god, you're burning up!"

"Yeah, I am a little hot." Keith agreed.

"Let me get you some water." Olivia said and got up to head to the bathroom.

"No!" Keith said as fear gave him a spurt of energy. "I don't need any water. Just come back here and talk to me for a while." The look he sent her was pleading.

"Alright, what do you want to talk about?" Olivia said as she sat back down.

"Why don't you tell me where you've been? I mean, I know you've been in Europe based upon your letters, but what were you doing there?" Keith urged; anything to keep her from going to the bathroom and finding it empty.

Olivia's face lit up as she believed that Keith was finally taking an interest in her. He wouldn't be asking her questions if he wasn't, right?

xoxo

The high speed chase ended rather abruptly. Lester was coming up fast on a semi trailer hauling logs. He checked his rearview mirror and noticed the cops still closing. He looked back at the truck and swerved to the left to pass. He hadn't taken the time to notice that another semi was coming in the opposite direction. As the air horns sounded from both trucks, Lester swerved once again; this time taking the ditch. The car bounced around crazily for a few minutes and then suddenly began to barrel roll. It rolled seven or eight times before it came to rest back on the four blown tires. It rocked back and forth for several seconds before coming to a stop, steam emitting from the radiator.

The air brakes on the semi's continued to screech as the sirens of the fast approaching cop cars reached ear splitting levels. The first officer to reach the scene hopped out of his car and ran for the mangled wreck. He looked in the broken window and winced at the sight.

"I don't think he'll be talking to us any time soon, Captain." The officer said as he turned to look at his approaching captain. The officer reached in to put his fingers on the neck of the young man in the car to check for a pulse. "He is alive, though. Call an ambulance."

"Does he have any ID on him?" The captain asked.

The officer reached in the car and found a jacket sitting on the seat next to him. He pulled it out and found a wallet. Inside the wallet was a California driver's license. "Says here that his name is Lester Braddock. That mean anything to you?"

"Not to me, but maybe it'll mean something to Mrs. Partridge. Stay with him and call me with an update on how he's doing. I'll head back to the station to see if the name means anything to the Partridges." The captain said as he walked away holding the wallet.

xoxo

"Mrs. Partridge, does the name Lester Braddock mean anything to you?" The captain said as he walked into the room where Shirley had been pacing and Johnny, Danny and Reuben had been sitting pretending to read month old magazines.

"Yes, yes it does. Why?" Shirley asked as her eyes swung to the captain.

"It's the name of the man who was driving the car that was used in the abduction. Do you know why he'd want to take your kids?" The captain asked.

"No, I don't. He dated Laurie once or twice several years ago." Shirley asked perplexed.

"That's it!" Danny shouted as recognition finally dawned.

"What? What are you talking about?" Shirley asked.

"Lester Braddock's sister! She's Keith's stalker!" Danny was practically bouncing with the recollection. "Her name is…." He thought for several seconds, "Olivia!"

"Go! Find out all you can on Olivia Braddock." The captain sent several detectives scurrying.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

"Hey, wasn't she the one that Keith was too embarrassed to go out with after he ruined Laurie's date with Lester?" Reuben was pulling the memory from several years ago.

"That's her." Danny confirmed.

"So, Keith's rejection of her several years ago led to this?" Reuben asked in surprise.

"We don't know anything for sure yet, but that would appear to be the case." The Captain commented.

"What did Lester tell you?" Shirley asked.

"He hasn't been able to tell us anything. He's likely on his way to the hospital right now." At Shirley's concerned look he continued, "He tried to outrun us on the highway and he misjudged the space he needed to pass a semi. He ended up taking the ditch."

"Is he going to be alright?" Shirley asked. "To ask him questions, I mean."

"We're not sure at this point. He's in pretty bad shape." The captain told her sadly. It was always hard when young lives were wrecked so tragically.

"Well, isn't that just too bad?" Danny said but it was obvious he didn't mean it. Shirley couldn't bring herself to chastise Danny as it was actually what she'd been thinking. This young man had been a party to taking her two oldest. What did she care if he was hurt? He deserved it right?

"Well, actually, we need to have him tell us where they're keeping Keith and Laurie." The Captain reminded everyone.

xoxo

Laurie snaked her way out of the door after making sure no one was watching her. She checked out the area closely so that she could remember exactly where she'd started. She knew it would be confusing as there were a series of warehouses surrounding their building. She finally found a number painted in huge block letters on the side of the building just around the corner. Alright, now she could lead whoever back to the right building. Next step - find someone to help her.

She ran to the next building so that she was sure no one would see her from the building she'd just left. She stopped again to get her bearings and get the lay of the land. Would she be able to find a pay phone somewhere near? What good would that do her? She had no change.

Tears rushed to her eyes and she blinked them away just as quickly. She had no time for tears even though they sure would have felt good right now.

She couldn't just flag down a car, it might be Lester. They didn't know what kind of car he was driving and he could be coming back at any time.

"Alright, Partridge. Quit dilly-dallying. Just get moving." Laurie gave herself a pep talk as she tried to decide which direction to pick. "Luck, you've been good to me so far. Stay with me just a little longer." She pleaded.

Laurie could feel the heat of the day beginning to build. She chose the direction that allowed her the most shade. The longer she could walk the more likely she would be to find help.

xoxo

Keith blinked his eyes to keep them from closing completely. He needed to keep her busy. Laurie needed time. Was she still in the duct system or had she made it out? Was he close to being rescued? He had to hold onto that hope.

Olivia was smiling happily as she told him all about her time in Europe and how beautiful it was. "Oh, but wait, you've been to Europe yourself. You toured there a couple of years ago." She waited for him to reply.

Keith at first just looked at her before he realized she was waiting for an answer. What had she been saying? Right, Europe. "Yeah, we were there for a couple of months. Didn't you get the chance to see us then?"

"No, my Aunt wouldn't let me go." Olivia remembered the time she and her aunt had argued bitterly about the possibility of Olivia going to see her one true love in concert.

"Why not?" Keith asked.

"That's not important." Olivia frowned as she remembered she'd been in a sanitarium at the time and was being given weekend passes to visit her family. Her aunt could have easily gotten her a pass while the Family had been performing in her area but had refused. The old biddy had had a lot to pay for. Her unexpected trip down the stairs had brought a huge smile to Olivia's lips when she'd pushed her and the memory was still good enough to bring one today.

Keith watched her frown melt into a Cheshire cat smile and wondered at the cause. What brought this young girl such satisfaction? Did he really want to know?

Olivia reached out to him and Keith instinctively jerked away from her. His reaction brought a sharp pain to his leg and he gasped as his hand flew to the injured limb.

"Baby, what's wrong?" Olivia said as her hand continued toward him.

Keith had closed his eyes and didn't see her hand continue its path to his face. He flinched as she touched him, but didn't jerk away this time. The pain in his leg forced him to be very still. His teeth were clenched too hard for him to answer.

"Let me look at it." Olivia said as her hand began to trail down from his face.

"No!" Keith felt like shouting, but it came out as a weak plea. "No, that's alright. I'll have Laurie look at it later when she's feeling better."

Keith had hoped to keep Olivia's hands off of him. They made his skin crawl. But, by bringing up Laurie, he had reminded Olivia that she was still supposedly in the bathroom.

"That's right. She's still in the bathroom." Olivia said with suspicion. "I haven't heard any noise from in there either."

"She's probably just trying to give us some time alone." Keith tried quickly to cover his mistake.

"Not likely. She'd rather I spend no time with you at all. Much like my aunt." Olivia added as an afterthought. Too bad there were no handy stairs in the warehouse. Keith's beloved sister could meet the same fate as Olivia's wicked aunt. Oh, what pleasure that would give her.

As Olivia pushed herself up, Keith quickly tried to stop her from checking the bathroom. "You know, maybe you should check my leg after all. If Laurie's not feeling well, she may not want to look at it later." Please let her fall for it was all Keith could think. "Please, I'd really appreciate it."

"Anything for you, you know that." Olivia said as she changed direction from the bathroom to the table which held the first aid kit. "I'll need to grab some more supplies. There are no clean bandages in here. I'll be right back." With that she headed out the door.

Keith sighed gratefully as he realized he'd bought Laurie more precious time. He knew he wasn't going to remain conscious much longer, he just hoped he held on long enough for her to find someone to help her. It would be good if they found him before it was too late, but just knowing Laurie was safe would be good enough, right?

xoxo

Laurie's tongue felt like it was twice as big as it normally was. She was thirsty beyond belief. She'd unknowingly chosen the wrong direction and headed out toward the wilderness instead of toward the city. She'd been walking for a few hours, hiding whenever an unidentified vehicle approached. She was not going to walk right up to Lester Braddock and let him take her back. Not when she was this close to rescue.

How close was she actually? Very close – she had to be!

She staggered slightly as she looked up at the merciless sun that had been her enemy for the last few hours. There'd been little shade to protect her and she could feel her face burning badly. She'd have freckles when this was all over. She just knew it. Another thing to blame Olivia Braddock for.

If she weren't so dehydrated, she'd cry. The absurd thought brought a burst of laughter to Laurie's lips. She pushed it down quickly before it became hysterical. She could feel panic setting in. How much longer would she need to walk before she came across someone safe?

Wait, was that a house? Oh, dear Lord, please let it be a house. This was the third time she was sure she'd seen a house. Was this one a mirage like the last two? If so, it was closer than the last two had been. She'd been watching her feet so closely, that she'd almost missed this one. Come on, one foot in front of the other. You can do it!

She stumbled the last couple of feet to the steps. They were real! The house was real!

She didn't notice the tears that began to flow down her face as she fell against the door jamb and raised her hand to knock.

The door was opened by a little old woman who said, "Can I help you? Oh my, Ralph get in here!"

"Come in. Sit down. I'll get you some water." The little old lady settled her in a chair and walked over to a sink to fill a glass of water. "Small sips, don't want you getting sick. There you go."

"What is it Rose?" Ralph said as he walked in. "Who have we here?"

"I don't know. She hasn't said anything yet. She's just crying." Rose said as she continued to try to calm Laurie. "Can you tell me who you are?"

"Please, call the police. I'm Laurie Partridge and my brother and I were kidnapped two days ago. She still has him and he's hurt. Please, hurry!" Laurie said in a rush and then passed out.

xoxo

Keith had remained conscious only because she was touching him. He hated it when she touched him. But she'd insisted on re-bandaging his leg and he'd let her just to keep her away from the bathroom. The antiseptic had stung like crazy, but it was her touch that burned like fire. He knew it was the infection raging through his body, but he flashed between burning up and feeling as cold as ice inside.

He lost the fight just as she reached up to place a kiss on his lips.

"Oh, my poor baby. As soon as Lester gets back, I'm going to get you to a doctor. For once, your sister was right." Olivia said as she touched Keith's burning brow. His lips had been way too warm too. But then she had always known his kisses would be hot. She smiled to herself when she admitted that it just shouldn't have been the kind of heat brought on by fever rather than physical attraction.

She turned her attention to the bathroom. If Keith needed to be cared for, his sniveling sister could do it while she tried to find Lester. Where was he anyway? He wouldn't leave her she knew that. No matter how angry he was with her, she knew he would never turn on her. He was just taking way too long to blow off steam. He should have been back with food a couple of hours ago. She was hungry.

She knocked on the bathroom door. She should have just barged in, but for some reason she knocked instead. Nothing. There was no answer. She knocked again. Still nothing.

She tried the knob and it turned easily under her hand. As she pushed the door open, she stayed back in case the bitch had decided to try to jump her. Nothing. No one was in there.

What? Where was she?

"Keith!" She screamed from the bathroom. "Keith, where is that damn sister of yours?" She said as she stormed back into the outer room. Keith did not respond.

"Keith!" She shook his shoulder hard. "Wake up dammit! Where is your sister?"

Keith groaned softly as she continued to try to wake him. "What?" He mumbled.

"Where is your sister?" She screamed at him.

"Long gone." He mumbled before falling back into unconsciousness.

"Damn you! How could you? I love you! This was all for you! For us!" She screamed as she stormed from the room.

Olivia ran to the car that was hidden outside of the building behind some crates. It was Lester's convertible. Laurie would have recognized it if she'd seen it, but she'd chosen to go the other direction.

Olivia left in a spray of dust. She would have to come up with another plan to be with Keith. She would have taken him with her, but she couldn't get him out to the car by herself. If she found Lester soon, she'd come back for him.

xoxo

Laurie regained consciousness before the police and ambulance arrived. She was drinking water slowly when the first officer showed up.

"It really is you." He said as he looked at the pretty teenager with the sunburned face.

"Yes, and we have to hurry to help my brother. He's in bad shape." Laurie said as she stood up. Ralph quickly took up a position beside her, expecting her to faint again. She didn't.

"Miss Partridge, we can't just go running off to help him. The SWAT team is on the way. Once they get here you can take us to him and they'll get him out." The officer assured her.

"How long?" Laurie asked.

"Just a few more minutes." The officer assured her.

"I hope he has that long." Laurie mumbled to herself.

xoxo

"Mrs. Partridge, your daughter has been found. She's alright." The commander burst into the room and quickly remembered to assure the worried mother that her daughter was alright.

"Laurie? She's alright. You're sure?" Shirley said as she grabbed the table for support. Reuben and Danny rushed to her side.

"Yes, she's fine. One of my officers is speaking to her right now." The Commander smiled at her.

"What about Keith? Where's my son?" Shirley asked as she finally realized he hadn't been mentioned.

"They're going to get him shortly. Would you like to go out and see for yourself?" The commander offered. He knew he probably shouldn't, as they didn't know what they would find, but she looked so desperate.

"Yes, oh yes!" Shirley breathed as she grabbed for Reuben's arm to support her shaking legs. "Oh, Reuben, they found them." She looked at him with eyes swimming in tears of happiness.

xoxo

Laurie was standing stiffly next to a patrol car that was only about a hundred yards away from the warehouse that she had memorized just so that she could bring them back for Keith. She was waiting as instructed. What was taking so long? They'd left her here what seemed like hours ago but was likely about 10 minutes ago.

The EMT's from the ambulance were standing close by waiting to be summoned if needed. Laurie knew they'd be needed if Keith was still there. Why hadn't they been called?

After another five minutes, one of the SWAT members stepped outside the door and motioned for the EMT's to come. As they ran for the building, Laurie took off like a shot. She beat them to the door and flew inside, past the stunned officer and right past everyone, in her need to get back to her brother. She spared not a thought for Olivia. She just needed to see Keith again.

When she pushed through the door of the office, she noticed several officers around Keith's cot. She couldn't see him. Was he alright?

"Keith?" She said as she pushed her way through the ring of men. "Keith? It's Laurie. I'm back."

Tears were falling freely as she sat down next to her brother who was unconscious. "Come on, Keith. You need to wake up for me. Please, Keith. I need to know I'm not too late."

"Miss Partridge, let the paramedics do their job. Come on, that's it. You don't have to leave him, just let them do their job." The first police officer who had come to the old couple's house put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her slightly to the side.

Laurie watched in shock as her brother was checked out quickly, was given an IV and was transferred quickly to the gurney. She pulled away from the officer and grabbed Keith's hand as the medics jogged him back to the waiting ambulance. Laurie didn't ask for permission she simply jumped into the back with him.

Just as the doors were closing, an unmarked car pulled up with a flashing light on the dash. Shirley, Reuben and Danny hopped out while Johnny waited in the car for word.

"Who's in the ambulance?" Shirley screamed as she ran up.

"Mom!" Laurie yelled as she saw her mom run up.

"Laurie!?" Shirley cried as she saw her daughter push the partially closed door back open.

"Oh, Mom. It's Keith. His leg is infected. He needs to get to the hospital." Laurie wailed as she fell into her Mother's waiting arms.

"Can I go with him too?" Shirley asked as she continued to hold Laurie but still moved to the ambulance.

"Alright, but let's hurry. We need to get antibiotics in him as quickly as possible." The EMT said as he followed the two women into the back and yelled, "Come on let's get this show on the road."

"Come on Danny, let's hurry up and meet them at the hospital. Commander?" Reuben said as he hurried the man back to his vehicle and another fast drive with lights and sirens.

If Keith was alright, Danny was thinking that the stories he'd have to tell his friends would keep him the center of attention for a long, long time. Two high speed trips in one day, with lights and sirens. Groovy!

xoxo

When they reached the emergency room, Shirley and Laurie were escorted by a highly efficient nurse to a curtained area near where they would be working on Keith. She told them that they wouldn't be allowed to be with him while they worked on him and besides, Laurie needed to be checked out too. Shirley could stay while the doctor checked Laurie over and this way they would be close to Keith. She'd make sure to bring them regular updates as Dr. Lucas began Laurie's exam.

Just as Dr. Lucas finished the normal neuro-exam to make sure Laurie's bump on the head was not severe, the nurse came back into the room to report on Keith's progress. They'd immediately started him on very strong IV antibiotics in hopes of bringing down his fever quickly. The Doctor was currently working on getting the remaining glass and other debris out of the infected leg wound. The wound was very deep and he'd sustained quite a bit of muscle and tissue damage. He had regained consciousness when the local anesthetic the doctor had injected had worn off. The nurse speculated on where a young man of Keith's upbringing would have learned such colorful language.

Laurie shared a smile with her Mother and turning back to the nurse said, "Probably from all the roadies he's been in contact with. They usually watch themselves around females and the younger family members, but Keith spends a lot more time helping them set up for our shows."

The nurse smiled in dawning understanding and continued with her update. His ribs were only badly bruised not cracked or broken. She finally told them that he did have a slight concussion, but nothing that would have lasting effects. In other words, he was going to be alright.

Shirley and Laurie sagged into each other in relief. "Oh thank God." Shirley breathed. Her babies were safe once again. She just needed to figure out a way to never let them out of her sight again.

Laurie beamed in happiness herself. "Can we see him?"

"In between some of his more colorful phrases, he's been asking for you. In fact, he refused a sedative because he wants to see you first. Let Dr. Lucas finish up your exam and we should be just about ready for you then. How does that sound?" The nurse smiled reassuringly.

"Thank you." Shirley said as she clutched her daughter's hand.

As promised, when Dr. Lucas had pronounced Laurie dehydrated and tired but otherwise healthy, they were allowed to go in and see Keith. "He's in a considerable amount of pain, but he's still refusing the sedative in order to see you and talk to the police. He'll be very happy to see familiar faces."

He was lying with his eyes closed and his teeth clenched when they came in. Shirley and Laurie each picked a side of the bed and grabbed his hands. He was met by two beaming smiles when he opened his eyes. "Hi." He said quietly.

"Hi, yourself." Shirley said as she held back tears.

"Am I glad to see you both." Keith said then turning to Laurie his eyes ran over her quickly. "How are you?"

"By the look of it, better than you. How do you feel?" Laurie asked.

"Tired. Sore. Pretty lousy actually." Keith admitted as he tried shifting and winced.

"I'm so glad to hear that, brother dear." Laurie smiled harder as tears threatened once again.

"You're glad to hear I feel lousy, huh?" Keith asked in surprise.

"I'm just glad to hear you're feeling." Laurie assured him.

"Thanks to you." Keith agreed.

"Me? What did I do? It was you that distracted her." Laurie reminded him.

"I'm not the one who crawled through the air ducts and went for help." Keith reminded her.

"You would have if you could have." Laurie assured him.

"Ha, not in this lifetime. I'd just washed my hair." Keith joked.

Laurie laughed and leaned down to kiss him on the side of his head. If he was feeling good enough to joke with her, he was definitely on the road to recovery. "Your hair could use a good washing." She pointed out.

"Don't remind me. Keep all the good looking nurses away until I can clean up, will ya?" Keith continued to joke causing Laurie to laugh again.

"Danny and Reuben are here to see you too. Do you feel up to it?" Shirley asked as she watched her two oldest interact.

"Well, Reuben's ok, but Danny?" Keith grimaced and then smiled at his Mom.

"Oh you!" She kissed his cheek and walked out to get Reuben and Danny. They'd both be chomping at the bit to see him.

While she was gone, Keith turned to Laurie with a serious look on his face, "Did they find Olivia?"

"Not yet. She wasn't there when we arrived. But they will. They know who she is now." Laurie assured him.

Keith put a smile back on his face when Reuben and Danny were brought into the room, but he didn't feel much like smiling anymore. Until Olivia was caught, his life wasn't his own and no one he was around was safe.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Keith had been taken to his room but he refused to allow anyone to give him a strong painkiller until he had spoken to the police. With Shirley, Reuben and Danny present, the Commander and Detective Anderson from Dallas came in to question he and Laurie on what had happened and where Juliet/Olivia might be headed. Though they gave a good accounting of what had happened to them the whole time they were held hostage, they had no idea where she might go from here.

Keith told them the details he could remember that Olivia had given him on her time in Europe but he'd been pretty out of it at the time. He also reminded them to take the stories with a grain of salt. He just couldn't believe that the description she had given him was the full truth. It was too ideal. It just didn't fit. He was a little foggy on some of the details she'd told him because he'd been close to losing consciousness throughout much of that conversation, but he was able to tell them that there was an Aunt Millie somewhere in the picture. He also suspected she might be dead according to one of 'Juliet's' previous letters.

Detective Anderson tended to agree with Keith's assessment. He'd been working this case for quite a while now and knew that this young woman was delusional in the best of circumstances. He'd also come to realize that she was capable of things most people would never even think about much less consider taking action on. Killing someone was definitely in the realm of possibility when it came to one Olivia Braddock.

The Commander had Keith and Laurie go over the details of the more distant past that they shared with the Braddock siblings to make sure they covered all of their bases. After talking for a couple of hours, Keith was in more pain then he could bear. He finally asked the Commander if they could finish up later if they had missed anything. The Commander realized he'd pushed the young man as far as he could and was about to walk out of the room when he remembered to fill them in on one last piece of information. He told them that Lester was in the ICU of the same hospital struggling to survive his car accident. If he ever woke up, they would question him to find out where his sister would go. Until then, they would use the new information that they had recently received on her and hopefully find her quickly. The FBI had taken an interest in the case once the two of them had been kidnapped, so they had additional resources to call upon.

He did assure them that now that they had her real name, they would be doing quite a bit of research on her past and maybe that would give them a lead. With the FBI's help, hopefully this would all be over soon.

They were all to relax. They would have 24 hour police protection both at the hospital and at the hotel.

Shortly after the commander left, Keith was given a sedative so that he could sleep. He gratefully accepted as his leg had begun to throb with his heartbeat. He was told that he should feel much better the next time he woke up. He smiled weakly and drifted off while surrounded by his family.

Once he was asleep, Shirley called home to let her parents and Chris and Tracy know that both Keith and Laurie were back with them and both would recover from their ordeal. Her father had peppered her with questions and Shirley was sure that by the end of the conversation, her father knew absolutely every detail that she was able to tell him. His concern was comforting. Just knowing someone cared so much for her and her kids made her feel better.

Shirley suggested that everyone else head back to the hotel while she stayed with Keith. By now it was late evening and they all needed their sleep. She wouldn't listen to any of them when she was reminded that she hadn't slept for two days herself. She shooed them out of the room and told them not to come back until the next morning. 'Keith wouldn't be awake until then anyway' was the argument she used. When Laurie pointed out that this would be a golden opportunity for her to catch some rest as well, Shirley smiled and waved as she walked back into Keith's room closing the door behind her.

Laurie reluctantly headed back to the hotel with Reuben and Danny while Shirley stayed seated by Keith's bedside. If he woke up, he wouldn't be alone.

Laurie had to admit that she felt much better after she took a shower and changed her clothes. The police had returned her suitcase that they'd found on the bus. She smiled sadly at what had happened in the last 48 hours. Things were so different yet somehow the same.

She lay down on the bed and tried to sleep. She was exhausted, why couldn't she sleep? After about an hour, she gave up and wandered into the living room of the suite. She found Reuben reading a newspaper.

"What are you doing up?" Reuben asked in surprise.

"I couldn't sleep. I feel like I'm forgetting something." Laurie said as she sat next to him on the couch, curling her legs under her robe.

"Like what? You told the police everything you remember, right?" Reuben tried to reassure her.

"I think so. It's just that I feel like I'm missing something important." Laurie chewed on her lip as she fell into deep thought.

"Laurie, they grilled you for more than two hours. Two hours that Keith should have spent sleeping through the pain instead of bearing as much as he could. I could almost feel my own leg throbbing as I watched the whole process." Reuben rubbed his leg in remembered sympathy.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. He never let on how much pain he was in while we were locked in that room either. If I hadn't felt the heat rolling off of him in waves, I likely wouldn't have realized how infected his leg had really gotten." Laurie admired Keith's bravery.

"He's a real trooper." Reuben smiled.

"I'm just glad to hear he'll be making a full recovery soon." Laurie had smiled in relief after hearing the doctor's prognosis of a full recovery with only a small scar. Danny had actually been disappointed to hear that the scar wouldn't be very noticeable after a few months. He'd thought the scar would be almost like a war wound. 'You know, something to wear with pride' was what he'd called it. Keith had simply pulled a face at him and turned back to the doctor to find out how soon he'd be able to walk on his sore leg. A couple of days on crutches, maybe another week with a cane and he'd be good to go.

"Poor guy is gonna hate using crutches, but he's really gonna hate the cane." Reuben smiled in memory as he relived the same scene from earlier that evening.

"Yeah, he is, isn't he?" Laurie agreed with a smile. The thought that had been worrying her finally made itself known. "Oh, wow, in all the excitement, I almost forgot – how are Johnny and the Detective from San Peublo?"

"Johnny is doing pretty good. He's got a broken collar bone and a cut on his leg that will leave a scar that Danny would consider worthy of pride." Reuben smiled at Danny's young view of things. "The detective is still in the hospital. He has a broken leg that will require traction for a couple of days for sure."

"But they're both going to be alright?" At Reuben's nod, Laurie sighed in relief and smiled. Her smile turned to a frown as her thoughts turned to Lester. "Do you think Lester will ever wake up from his coma?"

"Do you really care?" Reuben asked in surprise.

"I actually feel kind of sorry for him." Laurie said.

"Really?! The guy deserved everything he got." Reuben said vehemently.

"Reuben, I'm not so sure that Lester really knew what Olivia had planned. They argued over why Olivia planned the whole Keith nabbing. I don't think he's aware of her obsession. I think he thought this would be a harmless prank to get back at Keith and I for what happened almost 3 years ago. He was surprised to find out that she's not all there, you know what I mean?" Laurie explained.

"He has no idea that Olivia's been stalking Keith for three years?" Reuben still couldn't grasp that a brother didn't know what was happening with his sister.

"I don't think they lived together for quite some time. He was always in the states while she was in Europe. I think she may have used him for her own means." Laurie couldn't help but defend him even though he was an idiot for agreeing to such a far out plan. Even if it had been a prank, it was pretty elaborate and had hurt people badly. Especially Keith.

"I think your sympathies may be wasted, but hopefully the young man will survive." Reuben looked over to see Laurie hiding a yawn behind her hand. "It's good to see I haven't lost my touch."

At Laurie's questioning glance Reuben continued, "You're yawning. That's my usual effect on women, don't you know?"

"Ha, you're nowhere near to boring, Reuben. Now Dr. Applebaum on the other hand…" Laurie and Reuben shared a laugh at one of Shirley's previous suitors who'd had a knack for discussing only medical issues and thus boring people to tears.

"Well, thanks for the vote of confidence. Do you think you can get some sleep now?" Reuben asked.

Laurie realized that their conversation had finally allowed her mind to relax. She simply nodded in answer to Reuben's question. At her nod, Reuben stood up and pulled her up to stand too. He walked her slowly to the door and pushed her through. "Good night, Laurie."

"Good night, Reuben." Laurie said as the door closed gently behind her.

xoxo

Shirley watched Keith sleep for hours. She just couldn't stop watching him.

When the shift change for the nurse took place, two of them came into the room at the same time. The older nurse who had had the earlier shift ran down the particulars of Keith's case and told the new one what to watch for. The night shift nurse must be a recent graduate. She couldn't be much older than Keith though she looked very competent. She introduced herself as Heather and after one last look at her newest patient left Shirley alone with her son once more.

Heather would stop in every half hour or so to check on his IV and place the back of her hand on his forehead and cheeks. She had quietly explained to Shirley what she was doing when she caught Shirley watching her closely.

She explained that she didn't want to wake him to actually take his temperature, but by touching him, she could monitor the major changes. Shirley smiled secretively when she realized that the pretty nurse who had the night shift likely used the opportunity to her advantage. Shirley couldn't help but notice the appreciative glances that went along with the touches that, though innocent, likely lasted longer than they needed to. Even in sleep, her son could turn heads.

Noticing the look of exhaustion on her patient's mother's face, Heather suggested that Shirley curl up on the second unoccupied bed in the room and catch some sleep. At Shirley's refusal, Heather shrugged and left to check in on her other patients.

After Heather had left the room for the third or fourth time, she had dimmed the lights. Shirley was so tired that she soon found herself nodding off. As soon as her head would bob, she'd wake up. Each time she jerked awake, she would walk around the room to wake herself up more and then sit and watch him again.

He'd laugh at her if he was awake. She knew she was being ridiculous, but she just couldn't let him out of her sight. Especially while he was helpless from the injuries and the medication he'd been given. She knew there were two policemen in the hallway, but that didn't matter. What if he needed her?

She was just starting to nod off again when he moved restlessly in his sleep. He shifted and moaned from the pain in his leg. He frowned in his sleep and seemed to settle back down. His movements caused her to wake fully and she was staring at his face intently when his eyes suddenly opened and he screamed 'No!'.

His scream was so loud that the two policemen came flying into the room followed quickly by a different nurse who had been just outside the door talking to the policemen. The nurse came quickly over to stand right next to Shirley who had already rushed to Keith's side in surprise.

Keith, totally unaware of his audience, was now sitting bolt upright in bed and panting from the exertion of pulling himself from the nightmare he'd been experiencing. His eyes were wide open but unfocused.

"Keith?" Shirley said and quickly put her hands on his face to turn him toward her. "Keith, are you alright?"

When he didn't answer right away, Shirley tried again, "Keith, what is it? Did you have a bad dream?"

"Mom?" Keith said in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

"Keith, you're in the hospital. Don't you remember?" Shirley asked.

"Remember what?" Keith asked looking totally baffled.

The other nurse stepped forward drawing Keith's attention to her. She looked surprisingly like Olivia in the dim light and Keith pulled violently from his Mother's grasp while saying "No. Stay away from me." As he pushed away, he felt the edge of the bed and quickly pushed himself up and away from the woman who, in the shadows, looked just like the woman in his recent nightmare. He stumbled over the tubes from his IV and ended up jerking them out of his arm causing the blood to flow freely.

"Keith, what is it? What's wrong?" Shirley tried pushing past the shocked nurse to get around the bed and closer to Keith. "Keith, it's me. It's Mom."

"Mom? Keep her away from me." Keith said as he stumbled back against the wall and then slowly sank to the floor as his bad leg gave out. He was unable to hold himself up with his good leg due to the fever making him feel weak and dizzy.

Heather, who came in just as Keith had made his inelegant exit from the hospital bed, came quickly over by Keith and tried to put some gauze on his bleeding arm. "Mr. Partridge, we need to get you back in bed. You're too sick to be sitting on the floor and I need to get the IV back in your arm. You need the antibiotics. Your fever is still too high."

One of the policemen finally decided to turn on the lights. Once the lights were on, Keith looked around and finally noticed the room and the rest of its occupants. He looked down in embarrassment and said, "Sorry, I must have been dreaming."

"That's perfectly understandable. Your fever is still very high. Let's get you up and back in bed." Heather said while she held the gauze to his bleeding arm.

"Sorry, I thought you were someone else." Keith said as he looked sheepishly at the nurse on the other side of the bed who now looked nothing like Olivia. She was quite a bit older and the coloring was all wrong.

"That's quite alright. I can honestly say that I've never scared a patient before, though. You're a first." She smiled at him.

Her joke brought a smile to Keith's face and he tried valiantly to push himself off of the floor. His bad leg was useless to him so when he finally stood up, he quickly over-balanced and would have fallen if not for his Mom and Heather catching him before he went over.

They quickly pushed him against the wall until they got their own balance and then Heather told Shirley, "I've got him. Why don't you pull the covers out of the way?"

What Heather didn't say but what Shirley saw was that the nurse was only too happy to have her son in her arms. She was smiling and blushing prettily as she put both arms around him under the guise of keeping him steady. Shirley smiled and stepped away to do as requested. Her son had made another conquest while he was too sick to enjoy it.

Heather began to maneuver him back to the bed giving him instruction the whole way. Shirley wasn't sure if it was to cover her nervousness or if the instructions were really helping as their progress was jerky and slow. When Heather had finally gotten Keith the few feet to the side of the bed, she began to try getting him turned so that he could sit on the edge of the bed. Keith made the mistake of thinking his bad leg could take any weight at all and at the last second, instead of sitting gently on the side of the bed, all of his weight went crashing down, taking Heather with him. They ended up in a tangle of limbs, Heather sprawled atop her patient who was groaning in pain but laughing in spite of it.

Heather's arms were pinned beneath Keith and Keith was now laughing too hard to move. His fever and the medication had made him downright silly. Heather quickly caught the laughing bug and could do nothing herself to try to free her arms.

Shirley hid a smile behind her hand, while the policemen quickly left the room before laughter could be heard echoing down the corridor.

"Heather get off of your patient." The other nurse reprimanded; jealousy evident in every word. She may be too old for the man whose chart said he was 18, but she could appreciate his good looks and other obvious charms that had flashed before her due to the modesty lacking hospital gown.

The sharp words brought Heather's laughter back under control. "Oops, sorry about that. Can you push up at all so I can get my arms out?" Heather asked as she grinned into Keith's smiling eyes.

"Do I have to?" Keith grinned devilishly.

Heather raised an eyebrow at him and said, "I think maybe you better." She added in a whisper that only he could hear, "Or I might just lose my job."

Keith's smile slipped off his face and, using his good leg, he pushed up enough that Heather could get her arms loose. "Sorry." He said all serious once again.

"No problem. Now, scoot up on the bed a little and I'll swing your legs back in." Heather instructed putting on her best professional voice while her face was flushed with pleasure and her eyes laughed directly into Keith's.

His good humor once again restored by her laughing eyes, Keith lay back quietly for her and waited for her to put the IV in his other arm. "No ripping this one out, OK? You've only got two arms and the other one is useless to us for a while." She joked.

"Yes, Ma'am." Keith sassed.

"I'm not that much older than you so don't you Ma'am me or I'll put this needle somewhere else." She teased.

"I'll behave. I'll behave." Keith said in mock terror.

"Good. Now, I'll see if the Attending wants to give you some more pain meds so that you can sleep some more. It's not even 3:00 a.m. yet." Heather said as she turned away from him to exit the room.

Shirley watched her son's face as the sassy nurse walked away. His eyes watched her closely with male interest. She was hopeful that this was the beginning of the healing process for him. She knew that right now his fever fogged brain wasn't remembering everything that had happened recently, but his hormones were certainly remembering how much he loved the female gender.

"What?" Keith said as he caught his mother watching him.

"Nothing." Shirley smiled at him benignly.

"No, that look means something. What?" Keith asked with suspicion.

"Can't I just be happy that you're here with me?" Shirley fibbed.

"I suppose, but something tells me it's more than that. Lucky for you I'm too tired to really care." Keith said as he settled back with his eyes closed.

Heather returned a short time later with a syringe of medication that she injected into the IV tube. She stayed a few minutes to flirt with Keith and as he became groggy rather quickly, she finally turned her attention to cleaning up the blood that Keith had dripped on the floor after pulling the first IV tubes from his arm. Once that was done, she turned to talk to Shirley before walking out. "Why don't you grab a couple of hours sleep in the other bed? I'll check in every 15 minutes or so but he should sleep deeply until mid-morning. The doctor upped the dosage this time. He wants him sleeping longer so that he can heal."

"I think I will. Thank you." Shirley said as she slid off her shoes and settled down to rest for the first time in days.

_The End_

_(to be continued)_


End file.
